General found dead ‘did not trust’ Radakin

A ROYAL Marines general who is believed to have killed himself said he felt “beaten down” by the new head of the Armed Forces a year before his death.

Major General Matt Holmes said he did not “trust” Admiral Sir Tony Radakin and that he had been undermined during a well-publicised spat over the Royal Marines. He told a friend he felt he had been “run over by someone with no military judgment” after Sir Tony sent emails “imposing his authority and keeping me constrained”.

Maj Gen Holmes was found dead at his family home in Winchester last Saturday and an inquest into his death is expected to be opened in the coming days.

It is understood that he and his wife Lea were divorcing, and the 54-year-old was looking for a civilian job after being removed as head of the Royal Marines in April.

As head of the Royal Navy, Sir Tony was Maj Gen Holmes’s boss. Ministry of Defence sources said there was “no dispute” over the fact that the two men had clashed over the future of the Marines and its place within the Navy, a fact reported by The Daily Telegraph in March.

In a message to a friend obtained by the Daily Mail, understood to have been written last October, Maj Gen Holmes wrote: “I’ve had a very tough year. I feel beaten down. Not listened to, merely run over by someone with no military judgment: too much is about appearance.

“I don’t trust Radakin. It’s been awful. Awful. You should see the tone of some of the emails I’ve had from Radakin. Basically imposing his authority and keeping me constrained.”

He said Sir Tony “doesn’t get the [Marine] corps” and saw himself as “owning” the relationship with the US Marine Corps even though its head expected to deal with Maj Gen Holmes.

A Royal Navy spokesman conveyed its condolences to his family, adding that the naval service would be there for them “now and always”.