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The prime minister has said he is sorry for the way gay Second World War code-breaker Alan Turing was treated.
More than 30,000 people, among them scientist Richard Dawkins, have signed a petition on the Downing Street website calling for an apology for the prosecution of Turing.
The mathematician was most famous for his work on breaking the German Enigma codes.
In 1952, he was convicted of gross indecency – all homosexual acts were illegal at the time.
He opted for chemical castration by a series of injections of female hormones rather than face a prison sentence, but took his own life two years later.
Despite the fact that the petition remains open until January, Gordon Brown issued a response to it on Friday.
"It is no exaggeration to say that, without his outstanding contribution, the history of World War Two could well have been very different," he said.
"He truly was one of those individuals we can point to whose unique contribution helped to turn the tide of war.
"The debt of gratitude he is owed makes it all the more horrifying, therefore, that he was treated so inhumanely."
Brown said that "we can't put the clock back" and noted that Turing "was dealt with under the law of the time".
But he described Turing's treatment as "utterly unfair".
"I am pleased to have the chance to say how deeply sorry I and we all are for what happened to him," he said.
"Alan and the many thousands of other gay men who were convicted as he was convicted under homophobic laws were treated terribly. Over the years millions more lived in fear of conviction."
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