“Mentally, it’s been absolutely terrible. I’ve suffered for many years with depression, anxiety, I have panic attacks”, Mr Close added.
Despite that, he said he is still “proud” to have served his country.
A National Audit Office report found that up to 4,000 veterans are expected to be eligible for compensation.
The LGBT Veterans Independent Review, led by Britain’s first openly gay judge, Lord Etherton, revealed decades of bullying, assaults and expulsions of LGBT servicemen and women – often leaving them without income or pensions.
On the report’s release, the then Prime Minister Rishi Sunak apologised in Parliament, calling the ban “an appalling failure” of the British state.
The government says the £75m available is significantly above the level recommended in the Etherton Review.
Veterans will be able to join the scheme from Friday 13 December.
