Lt Cdr Martyn Mayger, who took charge of HMS Tyne in February, under investigation over sexual allegations
A Royal Navy commander has been removed from his role less than three months into post while he is investigated over sexual allegations.
Lt Cdr Martyn Mayger took charge of HMS Tyne, a warship that operates in UK and European waters on security tasks, in February.
Continue reading...Adm Sir Ben Key has been asked to ‘step back’ as first sea lord, after MoD said he had departed for ‘private reasons’
The head of the Royal Navy has been suspended pending an investigation.
Adm Sir Ben Key has been asked to “step back” as first sea lord, sources at the MoD confirmed on Friday.
Continue reading...RAF jets target buildings used to make drones, officials say, in Britain’s first involvement since Trump took office
British fighter jets joined their US counterparts in airstrikes against Yemen’s Houthi rebels overnight, the first military action authorised by the Labour government and the first UK participation in an aggressive American bombing campaign against the group.
RAF Typhoons, refuelled by Voyager air tankers, targeted a cluster of buildings 15 miles south of the capital, Sana’a, which the UK said were used by the Houthis to manufacture drones that had targeted shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
Continue reading...Defence secretary says lessons from Ukraine highlight need for homegrown supply chain
Britain is set to significantly increase its weapons production in order to no longer rely on importing from the US and France.
This comes as British and European defence companies move away from buying US-made weaponry and equipment due to concerns over president Donald Trump making the country an unreliable military partner.
Continue reading...Incidents over Baltic Sea come after UK’s deployment of six jets to eastern Poland to defend Nato airspace
RAF fighter jets have intercepted two Russian aircraft flying close to Nato airspace over the Baltic Sea.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) said two RAF Typhoons were scrambled from Malbork airbase in Poland on Tuesday to intercept a Russian Ilyushin Il-20M “Coot-A” intelligence aircraft.
Continue reading...Government calls in military experts as month-long refuse workers’ strike brings warnings of public health emergency
Office-based military specialists have been called in to deal with the mounting piles of rubbish on the streets of Birmingham after a month-long strike by refuse workers.
Tens of thousands of tonnes of rubbish have gone uncollected and Birmingham city council has declared a major incident and issued a public health warning since the all-out-strike by Unite union members began on 11 March.
Continue reading...Douglas Alexander’s unpublicised trip to talk with counterparts coincides with that of Adm Sir Tony Radakin
A trade minister has travelled to China for an unpublicised visit this week at the same time as the head of the British military, the Guardian has learned.
Douglas Alexander, the minister for trade policy and economic security, is paying a visit to Beijing this week for talks with Chinese counterparts. He is also due to visit Hainan and Hong Kong.
Continue reading...Relatives of Agnes Wanjiru say 13-year fight for justice has taken ‘heavy toll’ after meeting with John Healey
The family of a Kenyan woman who was allegedly killed by British soldiers have said their 13-year fight for justice has taken a “heavy toll”, and that they have been offered “too many empty promises” after a meeting with the defence secretary.
Agnes Wanjiru was 21 when she disappeared in March 2012. She was last seen in the company of British soldiers in a bar in a hotel in Nanyuki, a town in eastern Kenya where the British army has a military base, BATUK.
Continue reading...Intensive talks to take place next week on detail and structure of any British deployments if ceasefire deal reached
The UK is to “accelerate the pace and scale” of its military planning to be ready to support Ukraine, with No 10 saying all options, including troops on the ground, are possible.
Keir Starmer’s spokesperson said thousands of troops would be needed to support Ukraine in the event of a ceasefire and agreement to end the war with Russia, whether by “sea, on land or in the air”.
Continue reading...EU launches scheme to buy more weapons in Europe as Russia remains ‘a threat for the foreseeable future’
Europe needs to be able to deter potential invaders by 2030, the EU executive has said as it launched a push to buy more weapons in the bloc and from allied countries, rather than from the US.
The UK, US and Turkey will be excluded from defence contracts funded by a €150bn (£125bn) EU loans programme, unless they sign a security and defence partnership agreement with the EU.
Continue reading...The pilot, whose squadron shot down 90 enemy aircraft in an 11-day period in 1940, called himself the ‘lucky Irishman’
The last surviving Battle of Britain pilot, John “Paddy” Hemingway, has died aged 105.
The Royal Air Force (RAF) said Hemingway, a member of “the Few” who took to the skies during the second world war, died peacefully on Monday.
Continue reading...Malcolm Rifkind joins diplomats and analysts urging focus on European cooperation to replace Trident
Britain’s ability to rely on the US to maintain the UK’s nuclear arsenal is now in doubt, experts have warned, but working with European states to replace it will be costly and take time.
An existing debate about the future of Trident – Britain’s ageing submarine-launched nuclear missile system – has taken a dramatic new turn in recent weeks amid fears Donald Trump could pull out of Nato.
Continue reading...Interventions follow US vice president’s comments about ‘20,000 troops from some random country that has not fought a war in 40 years’. This live blog is closed
In response to a question about intelligence cooperation with the US, Sir David Manning, a former ambassador to Washington, said he thought this would become “more difficult” because there was a problem of trust. He explained:
If you have some of Trump’s appointees in these key jobs who have very strange track records, and have said very strange things about Nato allies, the Nato alliance and so on, and you have people in the administration who seem to be, let’s say, looking for ways of appeasing Russia, then you have a problem on the intelligence front, because these are not the values that we have.
Continue reading...Four days of events planned in Britain to commemorate eight decades since end of second world war in Europe
For the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day the Cenotaph will be draped in union flags and there will be a military procession and flypast as well as a new installation of about 30,000 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, it has been announced.
Four days of commemorations will begin on the bank holiday Monday of 5 May in tribute to the millions of people across the UK and Commonwealth who served in the second world war.
Continue reading...Europe can’t wait to react to Trump’s mood swings but must show we have the will and the wallet to take back control
It’s exhausting and humiliating to have no control – watching every meeting in the Oval Office for a glimmer of Trump’s approval or displeasure, our security resting on a perceived slight or a mood.
The last week of meetings between Trump, Macron, Starmer and finally Zelenskyy always felt like crawling across a minefield. Some might agonise about whether Zelenskyy could have played things differently. It’s the wrong question. The point is that we can’t carry on being so dependent on every meeting at the White House. Until we start taking charge of our future, we will always be one heart palpitation away from dreading doomsday.
Continue reading...Bridget Phillipson calls 2.5% target ‘ambitious’ days before PM meets with Donald Trump in Washington
Keir Starmer is unlikely to set out a plan this week for when the UK will increase its defence spending to 2.5% of GDP, a cabinet minister has indicated.
The education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, said the target was ambitious, despite Labour previously claiming it would set out a path to meeting the spending goal after the strategic defence review in the spring.
Continue reading...Ministry of Defence says lessons learned from death will make military safer, but victims and families say they have heard it all before
A soldier left suicidal after complaints about a senior officer were ignored. Two women told they needed to grow up or their heads would be banged together after they complained about sexual harassment by their major. A servicewoman raped and left with post-traumatic stress disorder while her attacker was given a slap on the wrist.
Online army forums have been flooded this week with testimonies of abuse – and the military’s failure to tackle it – sparked by the inquest into the death of 19-year-old gunner Jaysley Beck. The head of the army, Gen Sir Roly Walker, has expressed his disgust and suggested senior ranks may even be “actively complicit” in abusive behaviour. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has promised that lessons will be learned.
Continue reading...Civil servant Josie Stewart found to have been unlawfully dismissed in 2022 after she told BBC about failures
A civil servant who blew the whistle about the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan and Boris Johnson’s involvement in a decision to evacuate a pet charity from Kabul has won her case for unfair dismissal against the government in a legal first.
An employment panel of three judges unanimously found the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) unfairly dismissed Josie Stewart in 2021 after she leaked information in the public interest.
Continue reading...Jaysley Beck’s friends tell inquest she did not report her boss because her previous complaint was ‘squashed’
Colleagues of a 19-year-old soldier found dead in her barracks room after allegedly being sexually assaulted by an officer twice her age have strongly criticised how her complaint about the incident was dealt with.
One colleague of Gnr Jaysley Beck confirmed at her inquest he was “incensed” that WOI Michael Webber was only subject to a “minor sanction” after he allegedly pinned the teenager down and tried to kiss her during an adventure training exercise.
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at www.befrienders.org.
Continue reading...Ryan Mason sent Jaysley Beck, 19, thousands of WhatsApp texts in a month, inquest hears
A 19-year-old soldier found dead in her room at an army camp had become frightened at the “psychotic and possessive” behaviour of her boss, who had sent her thousands of WhatsApp messages and expressed his love for her, an inquest heard.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, who died at Larkhill camp in Wiltshire, was concerned Bombardier Ryan Mason had hacked her phone because he seemed to know where she was, the inquest was told.
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