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A fresh challenge to the armed forces' ban on gays and lesbians got the go-ahead in the High Court yesterday. Giving leave for Terrence Perkins, a 27-year-old homosexual, to seek judicial review, Mr Justice Sedley said: "It is arguable that sexual orientation discrimination is caught by the [EU] Equal Treatment Directive."

Mr Perkins was a Royal Navy leading medical assistant with exemplary service until his discharge in October 1995 following a tip-off about his sexuality to the Military Police. His case follows the landmark European Court of Justice ruling that the Equal Treatment Directive, which outlaws sexual discrimination, should be given a broad interpretation.