News - Imagine being convicted for having consensual sex with another man when you're 19 and even though laws have changed over the passed 51 years still being turned down for work because of what happened all that time ago. This is exactly what happened to John Crawford.

In an interview with The Guardian, now 70 year old, Crawford speaks out about being convicted for buggery in 1959 after being beaten by police and about his legal battle to challenge the Rehabilitation of Offenders Exceptions Order from 1975.

This order compels anyone working with so-called vulnerable people in the UK to disclose their conviction history even if the record is deleted or spent.

Eight years ago, Crawford discovered that his conviction for a sexual offence was still registered. since then he found out how many jobs he lost because of this.

According to Crawford's lawyers the existing system in the UK criminalises his sexual orientation. Crawford never spoke about his conviction openly until recently. He even kept it secret from his ex-partner of 25 years.