Alan Turing's stamp of approval and petition for a pardon.

Alan Turing (1912 - 1954)

One of the greatest tragedies of all time is the avoidable death and consequent early loss to civilization of Alan Turing, the master codebreaker and visionary responsible for the computing technology we have today. The most gifted man of his generation, regarded by some amongst the most gifted in the history of the world, he committed suicide after being punished by the state for his homosexuality despite everything he had done to help win WW2, saving millions of lives in the process and giving birth to the computer age.

In November last year, Channel 4 broadcast a moving TV documentary drama which I hope will be repeated for the benefit of anyone who missed it. Today the Guardian has details of stamps to be issued by the Royal Mail in February illustrating ten prominent people in their 'Britons of Distinction' series. Alan Turing is among them.

In 2009 Gordon Brown issued an unequivocal apology to Alan Turing, saying the country owed him a huge debt but that is not enough. He deserves a pardon. An e-petition has been been raised with a closing date of 23/11/2012. You can sign it here - but only because Alan Turing made it possible!