Drunken sailor’s rape joke and race insults at Edinburgh Tattoo
IT’S an age- old problem for the Royal Navy and is celebrated in a famous sea shanty – what shall we do with the drunken sailor?
And despite today’s Navy having apparently long moved on from the days of rum-soaked roistering, it seems some sailors still haven’t got the message.
Among them is a petty officer who became roaring drunk on free booze at a VIP reception during the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and ‘swanned around insulting people’.
Christian Ramsay, 39, made offensive comments about rape to a woman, insulted a senior Indian military representative’s heritage and cracked a cringeworthy joke about American history to US personnel who were present.
Embarrassed colleagues at the Lord Provost Reception in Edinburgh – held at lunchtime – had to intervene.
Hours later, Ramsay was still too drunk to take part in the Tattoo, where he had a ceremonial role. He insisted he was fit to take part in the prestigious event but ended up being under sentry guard while it went ahead without him.
Now he has been fined £1,500 after admitting two counts of unfitness through alcohol at a court martial.
Assistant Judge Advocate General Robert Hill said his behaviour ‘could not be more of a disgrace to the Navy’. Ramsay, who joined up 18 years ago, became ‘seriously drunk’ during the Navy lunch on August 26, 2016, which was attended by senior guests from armed forces around the world. He ‘lost all self-control’ and ‘embarrassed himself and his colleagues’.
Prosecutor Captain John Atwill told Portsmouth Military Court yesterday: ‘Put simply, he had very clearly over- consumed a very large amount of the free alcohol and his behaviour descended at the lunch reception. ‘Junior ranks and officers all had to intervene, they were embarrassed by him and for him.’
Captain Atwill added: ‘He did rounds of the reception trying to offend people. Perhaps the most troubling was when he approached a young woman.
‘He knew the woman and said to her “Do you want to hear a joke?” She didn’t want to hear a joke, she knew his jokes were bad and made it clear she didn’t want to hear one. He asked if she wanted to be raped, she said “I do not” and he said “That’s the spirit” and walked off.’
A leading hand [the equivalent of a junior NCO] told him he needed to ‘shut up’ and tried to lead him out of the room but Ramsay, who is stationed at the Faslane naval base in Scotland, replied: ‘**** off mate, I’m a senior rate.’
Captain Atwill said: ‘ He spoke to a senior representative from the Indian military and asked where he was from.
‘The senior representative replied “Mumbai” and PO Ramsay then proceeded to make a derogatory remark which I will not repeat.
‘He turned to the US military band and offered them an offensive joke about the USA’s history, which I will also not repeat.
‘His behaviour got worse and worse throughout the day. He was due to be the on- duty petty officer of the guard for the Tattoo that evening, however he was so drunk he could not fulfil his duty.’