The government has rejected calls for computer pioneer Alan Turing to be granted an official pardon for convictions for homosexuality dating back to the 1950s.

An online petition of over 23,000 signatures had requested the pardon.

Justice Minister Lord McNally dismissed the motion in the House of Lords.

“A posthumous pardon was not considered appropriate as Alan Turing was properly convicted of what at the time was a criminal offence,” he said.

In 2009 former Prime Minister Gordon Brown issued an official apology to Mr Turing, labelling the treatment he had received as “utterly unfair” and “appalling”.