Army chief in court after ‘swindling £50k in school allowance’
AN Army officer defrauded the taxpayer out of almost £50,000 to pay for his children’s private school fees, a court heard yesterday.
Major General Nick Welch, 57, allegedly abused Army allowances when he took on the top job at the Ministry of Defence’s London headquarters.
He is the most senior officer to face a court martial in more than 200 years.
A military court heard the two-star general told the Army that his wife Charlotte would be living at his new London residence – which meant he could claim an allowance for his children’s education.
Relocate
But she is said to have spent most of her time at their £800,000 country home while they boarded at schools nearby, the prosecution claimed.
Details about Maj Gen Welch’s alleged fraudulent behaviour were revealed as his landmark court martial opened yesterday.
The officer, who has a glittering career and an OBE, is accused of swindling £48,000 in education allowance from December 2015 to February 2017. His trial at Bulford Military Court, Wilts, heard Maj Gen Welch and his family had been living in Gloucestershire in 2015 when he was appointed Assistant Chief of the General Staff.
As part of the role, the father of three became the most senior officer at MoD HQ and had to relocate to a four-bed family home in Putney, London.
Continuity of Education Allowance is offered to soldiers to help fund their child’s schooling when they relocate on assignment, as long as their family live with them.
It was claimed that after Maj GenWelch told the Army his family would be living with him, his wife spent most of her time at their cottage near Blandford Forum, Dorset, while two of his children boarded at different Dorset schools.
Prosecutor Sarah Clarke QC said: “Very rarely were they in London, it was not the family home. He should not have been claiming the allowance.”
Maj Gen Welch is the highest ranking officer to face court martial since Lieutenant General Sir John Murray was convicted of abandoning his siege guns without due cause in the Napoleonic Wars.The trial continues.