Car row Navy captain ‘ let wife drive on school run’
THE Navy captain who was kicked off HMS Queen Elizabeth was allegedly letting his wife use the aircraft carrier’s car for the school run.
Commodore Nick CookePriest was removed from command of the Royal Navy’s biggest ship after he was accused of treating the Ford Galaxy ‘like his own’.
He was also said to have been reported by his own sailors.
After news of his removal broke, it was revealed that Cdre CookePriest was still in command as the ship sailed from Rosyth in Scotland, to Portsmouth.
The Royal Navy then reversed the decision and flew the captain off the ship.Cdre Cooke-Priest’s wife was using the car for personal journeys including the school run, the Daily Telegraph reported.
He had allowed his wife to use it while the £3billion aircraft carrier was at sea, a source alleged. The senior officer had been given multiple warnings over improper use of the car, it was said.
Ministry of Defence cars are allowed to be used only for official business, with each mile driven being noted on a worksheet.
There were discrepancies between the car’s milometer and the record documenting who used the Ford Galaxy, for what reason and for how long.
It is thought that members of Cdre Cooke-Priest’s own crew flagged them up.
A senior Navy source told the Telegraph: ‘Everyone knows the rules; it’s not as if you stumble into them when you become Captain. It’s how we are governed as public servants.’
There is no allegation of fraud and it is understood Cdre CookePriest paid for any petrol used. But General Sir Richard Barrons, former commander of Joint Forces Command, agreed with the decision to remove the captain.
He told the Telegraph: ‘This is the Queen Elizabeth, not a Minesweeper – no offence. It’s iconic.
‘The Commanding Officer is the overseer of probity among the crew. If it became well known that he had broken the rules then he couldn’t claim to be leading by example and his authority over the crew is diminished. If the Commanding Officer’s position is seen as shaky to untenable, the kindest thing is to sort it out.’
The decision to remove Cdre Cooke-Priest from the ship was met with surprise yesterday. A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘In light of the ongoing investigation, as a precautionary measure to protect both the individual and the ship’s company, the Royal Navy has decided that Captain Nick Cooke-Priest will not be at sea in HMS Queen Elizabeth.’
Other naval figures hit out at the decision to remove Cdre CookePriest from command.
Falklands veteran Major General Julian Thompson called the dismissal a ‘ridiculous overreaction’. He said: ‘A slap on the wrist would have been sufficient. We live in a different age than the one I served in. We were far more bothered about defeating the enemy.’
Captain Steven Moorhouse, who is currently the Commanding Officer of HMS Prince of Wales, will replace Cdre Cooke-Smith.
‘Everyone knows the rules’