Household Cavalry trooper ‘racially abused colleague by calling him Gerry Adams’
Court martial told of ‘bullying’ by Scot
‘They thought it was funny’
A TROOPER in the Household Cavalry bullied a fellow soldier from Northern Ireland by racially abusing him and calling him ‘Gerry Adams’, a court martial heard.
Declan Coutts, from Aberdeenshire, and another soldier, Maxwell Nicholls, allegedly harassed fellow trooper Scott Alexander with slurs about the IRA and ‘car bombs’.
The ‘inseparable’ pair put him in chokeholds and headlocks, repeatedly soaked his bed with water and stole his ironing board and boots, a panel was told.
The three were roommates in barracks at Windsor, Berkshire, where they were trainees with the regiment, traditionally responsible for guarding the Queen.
Trooper Alexander said he felt ‘demoralised’ and pleaded with the pair to stop but said ‘it didn’t make a difference as they thought it was funny’.
He also said when he called them to ask for some belongings back, the pair, who were drunk in a pub, told him they would if he called Muslim trooper Azaan AzizSheikh a ‘black-faced P**i’.
That night, Trooper Aziz-Sheikh was allegedly attacked by Nicholls in a pub in Windsor and when they returned to Combermere Barracks was punched and kicked in the face by Coutts.
All four were recruits with the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, one of the most senior in the Army.
Nicholls and Coutts are accused of a string of charges relating to the incidents between July and November 2020.
Prosecutor Lieutenant Matthew Poulsom told Bulford Military Court in Wiltshire: ‘Trooper Nicholls and Trooper Coutts launched a persistent bullying campaign against [Trooper Alexander]. On multiple occasions they would pin him down, sit on his chest, strangle and choke him, and made racially abusive comments.
‘They frequently made racial slurs against him being Northern Irish, referencing the IRA in a derogatory manner.’
Giving evidence, Trooper Alexander said his relationship with Nicholls and Coutts started off ‘friendly’ but quickly became ‘unpleasant’.
Trooper Alexander, who has a strong Northern Irish accent, said they called him by the name of former Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams. He added: ‘I had slurs used against me after they picked up on my accent. Lots of derogatory terms were used. Terms about car bombs, I was called Gerry Adams, and they would say I was in the IRA. I ignored it in the beginning but it did make me feel quite demoralised.’
Eleanor Lucas, a lawyer representing Nicholls, said the behaviour was ‘harmless horseplay between friends’. Cathryn Sutcliffe, lawyer for Coutts, accused Trooper Alexander of ‘making it up as he goes along’. Nicholls and Coutts both face a charge of racially aggravated battery on Trooper Alexander as well as an alternative charge of battery.
The pair also face a conduct charge relating to racial abuse towards Trooper Alexander.
Nicholls is charged with two counts of religiously aggravated assault and two alternative counts of battery, all relating to attacks on Trooper Aziz-Sheikh.
Coutts is charged with battery towards Trooper Aziz-Sheikh.
The trial continues.