The 1957 Report of the Departmental Committee on Homosexual Offences and Prostitution (known as the Wolfenden Report) recommended the decriminalisation of consensual gay sex. During the three years prior to the report’s publication, the Committee heard evidence from individuals and groups, such as the Progressive League.

Co-founded in 1932 by the writer H G Wells, for the study of social reform using the “application of rational principles”, one of the founding tenets of the Progressive League was the repeal of laws that discriminated against homosexuals. This aim is expanded upon in their March 1955 submission to the Wolfenden Committee.