George Montague: Tributes to 'oldest gay campaigner' after death at 98 - BBC News
Pride director Paul Kemp said George Montague was "a lovely spirit" who "died a happy man".
George Montague was a well-known figure at Brighton Pride parades over many years

Tributes have been paid to a "tireless" and "inspirational" gay rights campaigner who died at the age of 98.

George Montague fought for and won an apology from the government after his criminal conviction under the Sexual Offences Act was repealed.

Mr Montague regularly appeared at Brighton Pride on his rainbow-draped mobility scooter and called himself "the oldest gay in the village".

Pride director Paul Kemp said he was "a lovely spirit" who "died a happy man".

Brighton Pride tweeted that he was an "important part of the parade" and a "tireless campaigner for equality".

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Former defence minister and ex-Hove MP Ivor Caplin said it was a "sad day for the city".

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And human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell called him "inspirational and a "hero" he was "honoured to know".

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In 2016, the government announced that gay and bisexual men convicted of abolished sexual offences would receive pardons.

Mr Montague had been convicted of gross indecency with a man in 1974.

However, he challenged the government for an apology, not just a pardon, and won.

He told the BBC at the time: "It really made my day, I was over the moon."

Mr Montague said he "came out officially" in his 80s but the father-of-three and grandfather said he had no regrets.

"There's nobody luckier or happier or has lived as long as I have so happy," he said.

He married his civil partner Somchai Phukkhlai at Brighton Town Hall in 2015.

Mr Kemp, of Brighton Pride, told BBC Radio Sussex: "He found himself in his later years and was very happily married. He just loved the community he had become part of.

"He died a happy man and we can all celebrate that. Certainly at Pride this year, we will be remembering him."

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