Navy says HMS Portland sailors hospitalised as precaution after drinking accidentally contaminated water
Sailors are being treated in hospital after drinking “contaminated” water on their ship, the Royal Navy has said.
Frigate HMS Portland is believed to have diverted to Portsmouth naval base earlier on Friday after the discovery that the “wrong chemical” had entered the ship’s system to convert seawater to drinking water.
Continue reading...Jim Auld, 72, was one of 14 ‘hooded men’ subjected to interrogation methods since ruled as torture
Jim Auld was so tortured by British army interrogators during the Troubles that he tried to kill himself. He survived but has never seen a counsellor or psychologist or psychiatrist, and never will.
“I don’t trust them that it wouldn’t end up in a paper somewhere. I don’t want the torturers learning from me so they can improve their techniques,” he said last week.
Continue reading...Ben Wallace wants Berlin to allow its Leopard 2 tanks to be re-exported from Nato countries to join British heavy armour
Britain’s defence secretary has called on Germany to release Leopard 2 tanks for Ukraine after he confirmed that the UK would send 14 of its own Challenger 2 tanks, the first time a western nation has given its own heavy armour to Kyiv.
Ben Wallace said the UK would allow Ukrainians to start training with the tanks immediately as part of a fresh package of British military aid, unveiled before a western defence ministers’ conference in Ramstein, Germany, on Friday.
Continue reading...Col Tim Collins says ‘we don’t do notches on rifle butt’ and kill-count talk could increase Harry’s personal security risk
High-profile British veterans have criticised the Duke of Sussex’s claim he had killed 25 Taliban soldiers while serving with the British army in Afghanistan and warned the high-profile admission could increase the risk to his personal security.
The retired army veteran Col Tim Collins, best known for delivering a rousing speech before the start of the Iraq war in 2003, said the prince’s kill-count talk was crass and “we don’t do notches on the rifle butt”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: those covering for staff have no power to stop suspected criminals if they have valid travel documents
Soldiers and sailors covering for striking Border Force staff at passport control do not have the power to detain people they suspect of criminal activity, leaked documents show.
Emails reveal that people suspected of crimes such as carrying a false passport, drug smuggling, people trafficking and victims of modern slavery cannot be stopped by members of the armed forces if they hold valid travel documents.
Continue reading...MoD concedes to longstanding demands for statutory inquiry into allegations dating back to 2010
Ministers have announced a statutory judge-led inquiry into allegations of more than 50 summary killings by SAS soldiers in Afghanistan, a decision made after years of reports that elite British troops killed civilians in cold blood.
In a statement to the House of Commons, Andrew Murrison, the minister for defence people, said the Ministry of Defence (MoD) would concede to longstanding demands for an “independent statutory inquiry” after years of dismissing the idea. The inquiry will cover the period from mid-2010 to mid-2013.
Continue reading...Royal College of Nursing leader criticises ‘belligerence’ in meeting with Steve Barclay at which ministers refused to discuss pay
Nurses’ strikes will go ahead this week after a meeting between the union and the health secretary ended in deadlock, with the Royal College of Nursing condemning ministers’ “belligerence” for refusing to discuss pay.
Six hundred military personnel from all three armed forces will start training to drive ambulances to cover for striking NHS workers across the UK later this month. A further 150 are being readied to act as logistical support, defence sources said, with training for both groups to start “shortly”.
Continue reading...Ioane Koroiveibau’s case gives hopes to hundreds of other Commonwealth nationals who served in UK forces
A Fijian British army veteran who suffered from deafness after serving in Afghanistan has been allowed to return to the UK, in a case that gives hope to hundreds of other Commonwealth former soldiers living abroad.
Ioane Koroiveibau, 36, gave up on Britain in 2015 when his immigration paperwork was lost after his discharge on medical grounds, his hearing loss caused by repeated exposure to gunfire on a dangerous tour in Helmand.
Continue reading...Duke of Sussex records video to comfort youngsters at Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity for military children
The Duke of Sussex dressed up as Spider-Man in a surprise video message to try to comfort bereaved military children.
He donned the superhero outfit and only lifted his mask to reveal his true identity at the end of a specially recorded message for youngsters at Scotty’s Little Soldiers, a charity for bereaved British forces children and young people.
Continue reading...Party also questions whether troops would ‘bail out failing services rather than provide emergency back-up’
Labour has complained that the British army is being used to “bail out failing services” in the UK, at a time when the threat from Russia remains acute and British forces are being withdrawn from Estonia.
John Healey, the shadow defence secretary, has written to the defence secretary, Ben Wallace, to warn that troops “may be diverted from essential defence tasks” to plug staffing gaps caused by strikes in Border Force, the NHS and elsewhere.
Continue reading...Germany latest to end peacekeeping mission as operations prove unable to stop Islamic extremist insurgency
Thousands of international troops are withdrawing from Mali amid surging violence, growing Russian influence and an acute humanitarian crisis.
On Wednesday Germany became the latest country to end its participation in the UN peacekeeping mission in the unstable west African country. Earlier this week, British officials said that 300 British soldiers sent in 2020 to join the United Nations force would be returning earlier than planned.
Continue reading...Whistleblowers allege abuse suffered by female recruits included compilation of a ‘crush depth rape list’ by submariners
The head of the Royal Navy has ordered an investigation into “abhorrent” allegations of inappropriate behaviour in the submarine service and declared that sexual assault and harassment has no place in the fleet.
It follows claims from whistleblowers who have made harrowing allegations of bullying, misogyny and sexual harassment suffered by female members.
Continue reading...Defence secretary Ben Wallace flies to Washington to discuss dangerous new phase in invasion of Ukraine
Iran has deepened its commitment to supplying arms for Russia’s assault on Ukraine by agreeing to provide a batch of medium-range missiles, as well as large numbers of cheap but effective drones, according to US and Iranian security officials.
The surface-to-surface missiles are designed to supplement the severely run-down stock of Russian missiles, as part of a bid to systematically destroy Ukraine’s electricity infrastructure ahead of a brutal winter.
Continue reading...Chinese recruitment ‘to understand the capabilities of our air force’ of concern, says James Heappey
Ministers want to change the law to prevent former RAF pilots from training the Chinese military, amid reports at least 30 British personnel are believed to have taken advantage of “very generous” recruitment packages offered by the superpower.
It emerged overnight that British defence intelligence is to issue a rare “threat alert”, warning that China’s military is trying to recruit serving and former RAF jet pilots to help train its own air force.
Continue reading...Former and serving pilots told not to disclose sensitive information, in attempt to ‘mitigate risk’ of schemes
British defence intelligence is to issue a rare “threat alert”, warning that China’s military is trying to recruit serving and former RAF jet pilots to help train its own air force with generous recruitment packages.
Officials expressed “concern and disapproval” of these schemes because they posed “a threat to UK and western interests”. Although they are not explicitly banning pilots from providing training, they aim to take steps to “manage the risk”.
Continue reading...Exclusive: former veterans minister Johnny Mercer and others had condemned plans to scrap free travel
The government has vowed to guarantee free rail travel for military personnel to attend remembrance services this year after facing criticism over moves to scrap the offer.
Proposed plans to stop the free train travel after the government decided the cost would be “too great” had sparked an outcry and calls for a U-turn from the former veterans minister Johnny Mercer and others.
Continue reading...Families sent letter admitting to failures amid claims of squalid and even dangerous accommodation
The Ministry of Defence has been forced to apologise after army families were left enduring the “unacceptable” standards of housing contractors given management deals worth £650m six months ago.
The contracts had been lauded by the defence minister Leo Docherty in April but a letter was sent to families last week admitting to multiple failures amid claims of squalid and even dangerous accommodation.
Continue reading...Seventeen of those awarded the honours will be in attendance, including one from New Zealand and four from Australia
Recipients of the highest honours that can be awarded to military personnel and civilians for services to their country are to take part in the procession at the Queen’s funeral.
Seventeen of the 23 recipients of the Victoria Cross for military valour and the George Cross for civilian gallantry will be in attendance at the service on Monday, including one from New Zealand and four from Australia.
Continue reading...HMS Prince of Wales retreats to Solent for repairs after propeller malfunction, risking cross-Atlantic date with allies
Britain’s biggest warship could miss important flight trials with jets off the US coast after it suffered a propeller shaft malfunction shortly after setting sail, the Royal Navy has said.
HMS Prince of Wales, a £3bn aircraft carrier, left Portsmouth naval base on Saturday and suffered an “emerging mechanical issue” off the south-east coast of the Isle of Wight.
Continue reading...Sgt Gavin Hillier was shot at Castlemartin range by short-sighted soldier not wearing corrective lenses
An army sergeant who led a “distinguished career” was shot and killed after being mistaken for a firing target by a short-sighted soldier during a training exercise, a report has found.
Sgt Gavin Hillier, 35, of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards, died at the Castlemartin range in Pembrokeshire on 4 March 2021.
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