THE brother of David Cameron's head of communications has told how he was court-martialled and fined by the Royal Navy for being gay.

Guy Oliver, 46, the son of Dr Ian Oliver, a former chief constable in Scotland, said his battle with the navy ended in a six-year-long legal case and that he was fined £1,000.

Not long afterwards, he added, anti-discrimination laws were introduced in the UK armed forces.

In a magazine interview Mr Oliver, whose brother, Craig, replaced Andy Coulson at Number 10 four years ago, said that when he was 16 he "shocked" his family by telling them he was joining the navy.

He said it represented independence to him and also that the navy would fund his university education.

When he joined the navy, he was affiliated to HMS Edinburgh, and served on the same ship as Prince Andrew.

But not long after finishing his degree, he told his captain that he wanted to leave the service.

The interior designer said yesterday: "While I loved my time in the navy, I knew I was living a lie.

"Initially, I didn't tell my captain or my parents the true reason for leaving, because, up until 1999, gay people were banned from the armed forces; if you were found out, you were court martialled.

"But in the end, the truth came out and I had to face the consequences."

His brother, by then a producer on ITV'S News at Ten, supported him when the navy took him to court - a gesture Mr Oliver says he will never forget.

"My battle with the navy ended in a six-year legal case and I was fined £1,000," he added. "Coincidentally, not long after, the law governing gay people in the UK's armed forces changed."

In the interview, Craig Oliver said of his brother: "Being up against the might of the Royal Navy wasn't easy.

"The court case that followed was tough and really made me see Craig in a different light.

"Watching him being grilled in court made me realise how brave he was. I really admired him for it, and what he was standing up for."

Their father Dr Ian Oliver was chief constable of Grampian Police before he was forced to resign in 1998 over the force's handling of a child murder inquiry.