Lt Cdr

Lt Cdr Jones is referring to the horrors that faced many military personnel after they were suspected of being gay.

It was January 1994, 15 years into his Naval career, when Lt Cdr Lustig-Prean was blackmailed by a man he didn't know, but who had somehow found out he was gay.

"I made an appointment first thing on Monday morning with the head of the Special Investigation Branch," Lt Cdr Lustig-Prean says.

When Lt Cdr Lustig-Prean confided that he was being blackmailed, the SIB head was outraged on his behalf: "Give me the so-and-so's name and I'll sort it out for you. Why is he trying to blackmail you?"

Lt Cdr Lustig-Prean told him the truth - that it was because he was gay.