Inquiry into Army abuse collapses
ONE of the largest inquiries into the alleged abuse of teenage Army recruits in Britain has collapsed after the Royal Military Police bungled the investigation.
A judge branded the threeyear police probe “seriously flawed” as he halted the first of three court martials amid problems of missing evidence and claims witnesses were forced to make statements.
There are also fears that the Royal Military Police may have mishandled other cases, such as Operation Northmoor – the inquiry into alleged abuses by British soldiers in Afghanistan – and there are now calls for senior RMP officers to be investigated.
It was alleged that 16 instructors ill-treated 28 school leavers while posted to the Army Foundation College in Harrogate, North Yorkshire. But after eight days, the prosecution offered no evidence in 24 of the 31 charges the first 10 defendants faced – meaning five were acquitted and walked free from court.
The trial of the remaining five instructors continued for another day until Assistant Judge Advocate General Alan Large stayed proceedings, ruling they could not get a fair trial. Following his ruling – in which he condemned the RMP – the prosecution indicated it would offer no evidence against six more instructors.
With criminal proceedings over, it can be revealed that the RMP botched the probe by taking a “policy decision” not to secure evidence that might “undermine the prosecution’s case”.