Category Archives: Military

Trident submariner who died at base named as Stephen Cashman

Posted on by

Engineering technician was stationed at Faslane and worked on a vessel that carried UK’s nuclear deterrent

A 25-year-old Trident submariner who died in unexplained circumstances at the Faslane naval base on Thursday has been named as engineering technician Stephen Cashman by the Royal Navy.

Police Scotland is continuing to investigate the sudden death, first reported to officers at 12.30pm on Thursday, which is believed to have taken place in the barracks at the base for Britain’s nuclear deterrent.

Continue reading...

UK takes part in huge French naval exercise to counter ‘emerging threats’

Posted on by

France’s top naval commander cites ‘rapid rearmament’ of China and Russia as danger to maritime security

France’s most senior naval commander has said future conflicts are likely to be fought at sea and in the cybersphere, citing the “rapid rearmament” of countries such as China as a potential threat.

Adm Pierre Vandier made his comments after the French Marine Nationale and forces from five allied countries, including the UK, took part in what he described as a unique two-week exercise intended to prepare for “composite threats”.

Continue reading...

UK spy chief suggests Beijing risks ‘miscalculation’ over west’s resolve

Posted on by

Island’s status and surveillance technology making China ‘single greatest priority’ for MI6

China is at risk of “miscalculating through over-confidence” over Taiwan, said the MI6 head, Richard Moore, in a statement clearly intended to warn Beijing to back off any attempt to seize control of the island.

Giving a rare speech, Britain’s foreign intelligence chief said in London that China was at risk of “believing its own propaganda” and that the country had become “the single greatest priority” for MI6 for the first time in its history.

Continue reading...

As China threat rises, can Aukus alliance recover from rancorous birth?

Posted on by

Questions mount about pact’s ultimate purpose and implications for other Asean countries

It was initially seen as an audacious enlistment by Joe Biden of Australia into the 21st-century struggle against China, elevating the country in the process to a significant regional military power and finally giving substance to Global Britain and its tilt to the Indo-Pacific.

But since then the “ruckus” about Aukus, as Boris Johnson described it, has not stopped. If this was the start of a new “anti-hegemonic coalition” to balance China’s rise, it has not quite blown up on the launchpad, but nor has it taken off as smoothly as intended.

Continue reading...

British F-35 jet crashes into Mediterranean

Posted on by

Defence secretary says F-35 flights will continue, after pilot of RAF jet from HMS Queen Elizabeth carrier ejects during routine activity

A British F-35 pilot flying from the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier had to eject during a routine operation over the Mediterranean, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) has said.

The pilot was picked up but the £100m stealth jet crashed into the sea during the incident, which took place at about 10am UK time. No other vessels or aircraft were involved, defence sources said.

Continue reading...

Military chief pledges UK cooperation with Kenya in Wanjiru case

Posted on by

Gen Sir Nick Carter says alleged murder of Agnes Wanjiru by British soldier was ‘truly shocking’

The head of the British armed forces has said the military will be working with Kenyan authorities to bring those accused of killing a young woman in the east African country to trial.

The body of Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was found in 2012 after she reportedly went out partying with British soldiers at the Lions Court hotel in the central town of Nanyuki, where the UK army has a permanent garrison.

Continue reading...

UK must be ready for war with Russia, says armed forces chief

Posted on by

Nick Carter says Russia has become bigger threat in eastern Europe, but he doesn’t think it wants ‘hot war’

The outgoing head of the UK’s armed forces has said the military will have to be ready for war with Russia after recent tensions in eastern Europe, but he does not believe Vladimir Putin really wants “hot war” with the west.

Gen Sir Nick Carter said Russia was now a greater threat in eastern Europe than it was when he started in the role eight years ago, as he gave a series of interviews before his departure as chief of the defence staff at the end of the month.

Continue reading...

Team of 10 UK soldiers sent to Poland to assist on Belarus border

Posted on by

MoD says small team of military personnel deployed after agreement with Polish government

Britain has sent a team of about 10 soldiers to Poland to help Warsaw strengthen its border with Belarus, where groups of migrants have been stranded attempting to cross into the EU.

The troops arrived on Thursday and are expected to spend a few days in the country, including visiting the border at the request of the Polish government to work out if they can repair or toughen the fencing.

Continue reading...

Family of Kenyan woman allegedly murdered by UK soldier to sue MoD

Posted on by

Agnes Wanjiru’s family instruct law firm to demand answers over her death

The family of a young Kenyan woman allegedly murdered by a British soldier almost a decade ago plans to sue the Ministry of Defence to demand answers over her death.

The body of Agnes Wanjiru, 21, was found in 2012 after she reportedly went out partying with British soldiers at the Lions Court hotel in the central town of Nanyuki, where the UK army has a permanent garrison.

Continue reading...

‘She did not deserve to die like this’: family seeks justice for Kenyan woman allegedly killed by UK soldier

Posted on by

Reports that British soldier confessed to Kenyan woman’s murder in 2012 have deeply affected relatives in Nanyuki

A vibrant sisal plant in a public cemetery on the outskirts of Nanyuki in Kenya marks the grave of Agnes Wanjiru, the woman allegedly murdered by a British soldier in March 2012.

It is easy to miss the grave due to heavy undergrowth in the unkempt cemetery.

Continue reading...

The British army has serious questions to answer about the alleged killing of Agnes Wanjiru | Gaby Hinsliff

Posted on by

When the Kenyan woman died nine years ago, the army closed ranks – it’s time to find out what happened and why

The last time 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru was seen alive in public, she was leaving a hotel bar with two soldiers.

Her body was found by a hotel worker two months later, stuffed into a nearby septic tank, naked but for her bra. The mother of a five-month-old baby, Agnes was a hairdresser who turned to sex work to support herself and her daughter, and had gone to the hotel expecting it to be full of partying British soldiers. An inquest later concluded that one or more of them must have killed her.

Gaby Hinsliff is a Guardian columnist

Continue reading...

Revealed: scale of abuse and sexual harassment of women in UK military

Posted on by

‘Widespread’ mistreatment linked to physical pain, fatigue, alcohol abuse and depression, research finds

Women are suffering serious and long-lasting physical and mental health problems from “widespread” emotional bullying, sexual harassment and physical assault in the UK military, research reveals.

Those most likely to have experienced such treatment were younger personnel, those who have held the rank of officer or had a combat or combat support role, according to findings published in the BMJ Military Health journal.

Continue reading...

UK defence minister faces call for inquiry into 2012 killing of Kenyan woman

Posted on by

Inquest in Kenya in 2019 concluded that Agnes Wanjiru, 21, ‘was murdered by British soldiers’

The UK defence secretary, Ben Wallace, is facing calls to launch an investigation into a possible cover-up after no one was held responsible for the alleged killing of a 21-year old Kenyan woman by one or more off-duty British soldiers.

John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, described the 2012 killing of Agnes Wanjiru, a sex worker, as “dreadful” and called for Wallace to “take this more seriously”.

Continue reading...

El Alamein, Dresden and a cold war spy: the incredible life of Victor Gregg

Posted on by

A celebration of the achievements of the Britain’s oldest para veteran, who died last week aged 101

I first met Victor Gregg on a freezing afternoon in 2009 when we were to talk about his experiences in the second world war.

He was 90 and had sent me an email saying he would pick me up at Winchester station. When I arrived there was no sign of him. After 10 minutes a car parked up the road flashed its lights. It was Vic practising a routine he had learned more than 50 years earlier in the Western Desert, when Rifleman Gregg was assigned to Vladimir Peniakoff, the founder of “Popski’s Private Army”, a unit of British special forces. Vic’s job was to drive thousands of miles, alone, through the dunes, carrying stores and intelligence to Popski’s contacts. Vic said Popski had told him: “Before you go in, suss out how you are going to get out.” This was a life lesson for Vic, I had just been “sussed out” by him before going further.

Continue reading...

How tracking grizzly bears is helping veterans find way back from trauma

Posted on by

A project in western Canada lets former military service members put their skills to use tracking bears with wildlife experts and helps both groups overcome mental and physical wounds

On a recent crisp sunny morning, a small group of wildlife guides and British and Canadian military veterans, reached a ridge in the mountains of British Columbia and found themselves within 15 metres of a grizzly bear.

“He knew we were there. He could smell us but he was just doing his thing,” said Joe Humphrey, a former Royal Marine. The bear walked past them and ambled further up the valley.

Continue reading...

RAF intelligence base linked to US drone strike on Iranian general Qassem Soleimani

Posted on by

Research concludes it ‘was probable’ that Menwith Hill was used to assist in the controversial assassination

Campaigners have called on ministers to explain whether the secretive Menwith Hill intelligence base in Yorkshire is involved in recent drone strike assassinations, after the publication of a report that raises questions about UK involvement in US attacks.

The research concludes it “was probable” that Iranian general Qassem Suleimani was killed in January last year using information obtained from the British site, essentially an outpost of the US National Security Agency (NSA).

Continue reading...

Emergency visa scheme extended in major U-turn by Boris Johnson

Posted on by

Threat of Christmas being ruined by driver shortages forces ministers to expand range and duration of visas

Boris Johnson’s government has made a dramatic U-turn in an attempt to save Christmas – with a raft of extended emergency visas to help abate labour shortages that have led to empty shelves and petrol station queues.

New immigration measures will allow 300 fuel drivers to arrive immediately and stay until the end of March, while 100 army drivers will take to the roads from Monday, the government announced late on Friday.

Continue reading...

Boris Johnson expected to announce new armed forces chief this week

Posted on by

Navy chief Tony Radakin and SAS general Sir Patrick Sanders are frontrunners for the position

Boris Johnson has interviewed five candidates to head Britain’s armed forces with navy chief Adm Tony Radakin and the general responsible for the SAS Sir Patrick Sanders frontrunners for the job.

Defence sources said the prime minister had been advised to pick a new military leader with “operational experience” to replace the outgoing Gen Sir Nick Carter, whose credibility was damaged by the chaotic exit from Afghanistan.

Continue reading...

Is China stepping up its ambition to supplant US as top superpower?

Posted on by

Analysis: Joe Biden has cleared the decks to focus on China. But how imminent is the danger?

It may have been an inelegantly, even ineptly, executed pivot, gratuitously alienating key allies, but by leaving Afghanistan and forming the Australian, US and UK security pact in the Indo-Pacific, Joe Biden has at least cleared the decks to focus on his great foreign policy challenge – the systemic rivalry with China.

Yet the concern now is how quickly this rivalry could escalate, especially in Taiwan. The linchpin of the US alliance system in south-east Asia, Taiwan is the biggest island in the “first island chain”, the group of islands that keeps China blocked in. It is China’s next target, and as the former British prime minister Theresa May pointed out, no one quite knows if the west is prepared to fight to save Taiwan or whether the new tripartite pact in some way places a new obligation on the UK to come to the country’s defence.

Continue reading...

China vows to resist ‘interference’ as Taiwan welcomes support from Aukus allies

Posted on by

Australia and US pledge stronger ties, EU calls for trade deal and Johnson refuses to rule out getting involved in a conflict involving the island

China’s president, Xi Jinping, has vowed to resist “interference from external forces” as Taiwan welcomed support from major allies after a US-Australia ministerial forum pledged stronger ties with the island and the European parliament called for a bilateral trade deal.

Speaking at a meeting of the heads of state of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Tajikistan via video link, Xi urged members of the grouping to “absolutely resist external forces to interfere [in] countries in our region at any excuse, and hold the future of our countries’ development and progress firmly in our own hands”.

Continue reading...