Scottish National Party MP John Nicolson writes for PinkNews after his bill to pardon men with historical gay sex offences was blocked by the government in favour of a rival Lib Dem proposal.

Last Friday, Westminster was at its best and worst as MPs debated my Stonewall sponsored ‘Turing Bill’ to pardon gay men found guilty of historic crimes no longer on the statute book.

I’d been drawn first in the Private Members’ ballot, and had chosen a piece of legislation I knew could win all party support. In fact, I’d been approached by Tory whips earlier this summer, and in a scene straight from ‘House of Cards’ was told that if I chose this bill they’d support me “with no tricks and no games.”

The Tories under Cameron had long been keen to repackage the party as friendly towards gay rights. I’ll return to events last Friday in a moment, but first let me say why I wanted to pass the Turing Bill. Read more via Pink News