Letter from the Minister for the Armed
Forces to the Chairman
I thought you might appreciate a short note
following up on the article in The People on 11 July which
appeared to be based on evidence provided by Lt Col (Retired)
Haes to the Defence Select Committee's duty of care inquiry. The
article was a sensationalist treatment of elements of Richard
Haes' evidence that related to inappropriate behaviour between
recruits and their supervising NCOs. Similar articles subsequently
appeared in other newspapers.
It is important to understand that the issue
of NCO suspensions did not relate to the stories surrounding predatory
behaviour by female recruits. My staff in the ATRA have spoken
to Richard Haes about what he said to the Committee. His recollection
is that 15 instructors were suspended for various offences at
around the same time at ATR Winchester in 1999. Central records
of summary dealings were not kept at the time, but we do know
that five NCOs serving at Winchester were suspended while facing
Courts Martial for mistreating recruits. All were acquitted. Anecdotal
evidence suggests that there were other cases that were dealt
with summarily at the time, which resulted in a small number of
NCOs being moved to other units.
The story about predatory behaviour relates,
as The People identified, to ATR Bassingbourn. Two NCOs
were implicated in this case, but sufficient evidence to support
disciplinary proceedings was found against only one. Both individuals
were moved on, one following summary disciplinary action.
As you would expect, The People have
made the most of snippets from the Committee hearing relating
to events some five years ago. Sadly, it is unrealistic to expect
that we can eradicate inappropriate behaviour at any of our establishments
totally. This is not, however, to dismiss the serious nature of
the events which Richard Haes recalled for the Committee. Any
allegations of inappropriate behaviour are a cause for concern
and must be investigated and dealt with. There is no suggestion
that the Army failed to take appropriate action when confronted
with the evidence in these cases.
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