London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Armed forces complaint 'used as weapon against me’

Armed forces complaint 'used as weapon against me’

Four years on from submitting a complaint alleging she had been raped while in the armed forces, "Jane" is still awaiting a decision and says it was used as a "weapon" against her.
She told the BBC that colleagues knew things about the confidential process "they should never have known".

Her concerns are not unique, according to a report by the ombudsman for armed forces complaints.

The Ministry of Defence acknowledged "there is still more work to be done".

In her report, ombudsman Mariette Hughes said the complaints system was "not efficient, effective or fair" - the seventh year in a row it has been criticised - with the main grievances raised being around career management, bullying or discrimination.

The BBC is not using Jane's real name. She told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "You have no idea who that service complaint is sent to, but it could initially be somebody that sees things within your immediate chain of command."

She also received very limited communication about the next steps of the complaint, while information was lost and correspondence sent to an incorrect home address.

"I've never ever experienced anything like that in my life," she said.

In its annual report for 2022, the Service Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces said there is a "persistent view that the system will disadvantage or discriminate" against personnel who submit complaints.

Ms Hughes, who was appointed to the role in January 2021, told the BBC it was important to take into account "people's situations and emotions" when tackling complaints.

"The biggest overarching issue is still that sometimes within the service complaints process we forget that there are people involved," she told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

"We need to be able to show greater flexibility, take account of people's situations and emotions, and just recognise that at the end of the day these are people who have complaints that need resolving."

The ombudsman provides "independent and impartial oversight" of the service complaints process.

Ms Hughes said it was "distressing" that complaints relating to bullying, harassment and discrimination "take far longer than other complaints to resolve".

"Those are the ones where there's a lot of emotion involved, and they can really hang over individuals," she said.

A total of 12% of service personnel said they experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination, although just 7% of those raised a written complaint, down from 11% in 2021.

More than half - 56% - of those who experienced bullying, harassment or discrimination said they did not submit complaints because "they did not believe anything would be done about it", while 51% felt that "complaining would adversely affect their career".

While the report noted an overall increase in confidence in the complaints system, it said overall trust levels were "worryingly low".

"It's really difficult to understand the scale and breadth of the problem until people have more confidence in coming forward," Ms Hughes said.

"If we can't see the issues, we can't fix the issues."

Other issues highlighted in the report included the effect of changes to the appeals system, as well as the system not dealing with complaints at the lowest level.

However, the report also acknowledged improvements made to the complaints system in 2022, notably that the independence of the process has improved now that those making complaints no longer have to submit them through their chain of command but to a specialised team.

Efficiency also improved, with 66% of complaints being dealt with within the targeted time-frame of 24 weeks, up from 47% in 2021. However, this figure fell short of the 90% target.

The report found that 935 complaints were "ruled admissible", of which 43% were upheld either partially or fully in favour of the complainant.

Women in the armed forces continue to be overrepresented in the complaints process, making up 21% of complaints, despite comprising only 12% of armed force members.

The report made five recommendations for improvements, including reviewing case-handling processes and developing a dedicated area on their intranet to provide information about how people can submit complaints.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said that "bullying, harassment and discrimination" are not tolerated in the armed forces, and that it was "committed to providing a fair, efficient and effective" complaints system.

"We acknowledge that there is still more work to be done and are working hard to deliver it," the spokesperson said.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×