London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 17, 2025

Defence secretary summons UK army board amid series of scandals

Defence secretary summons UK army board amid series of scandals

Ben Wallace said to be ‘exasperated’ following bullying and harassment scandals and Kenyan woman killing allegations
The defence secretary, Ben Wallace, summoned senior generals to a rare special meeting of the army’s management board in London on Monday morning amid growing unhappiness about the service’s response to a series of scandals.

Allies of the minister said he had become exasperated after a series of bullying and harassment scandals, as well as allegations that a Kenyan woman was killed in 2012 by a British soldier whose identity is known to several colleagues.

The MoD said the hour-long meeting in Whitehall had been “full and frank” and that recent events had “brought to light important issues that require all our people to play their part in resolving”. It added: “The British army is only as good as the people who serve in it.”

Insiders said the tone of the meeting – attended by ministers and two-, three- and four-star generals – was largely constructive, and that the senior officers present had agreed with Wallace to address what the MoD described as “core and cultural issues” affecting the army.

No specific actions were cited, however, and the post-meeting statement also said the army would set out “exciting new plans for its future structure and deployments” later this month.

Two-thirds of women in the armed forces have experienced bullying, sexual harassment and discrimination during their career, a parliamentary report concluded this summer, warning also that the military is “failing to protect” female recruits.

It cited reports of gang-rape, sex for promotion and trophies or contests to “bag the women” on camp. Some women said they were bullied for refusing sexual advances, or had witnessed friends being attacked by groups of men but were too afraid to report it.

Since September, new army recruits have had to participate in sexual consent training provided by the Royal Military Police. But that requirement does not apply to existing soldiers, defence sources added.

On Monday night Sir Mark Carleton Smith, the head of the service, also announced the army would hold an independent audit of army culture to “reinforce the best and weed out the worst” as well as ensure better training and pastoral support.

In the past month, the army’s reputation has been damaged further after a press investigation into the unresolved 2012 killing of the 21-year-old Agnes Wanjiru, a Kenyan hairdresser who had turned to sex work to support her family.

The young woman was found dead in a septic tank near a British army based in the east African country, where she may have been dumped while still alive, after last being seen walking out of a hotel bar accompanied by a soldier in uniform.

A soldier confessed to her murder to colleagues, and his identity has been an open secret within the Duke of Lancaster’s regiment for years. But an investigation was only reopened by Kenyan and British military police in the last week.

Emma Norton, the director of the Centre for Military Justice, said the MoD needed to go further in dealing with bullying and harassment and allow civil authorities to take over all rape and sexual assault allegations, as well as introducing a central complaints team independent of each armed service to deal with serious harassment cases. “They know what they need to do, but they do not get on and do it,” she said.

The meeting also heard ministerial complaints about the ongoing noise and vibration problems with the next generation Ajax armoured fighting vehicle, which the MoD has expected to start taking delivery of this summer, but has now been indefinitely delayed amid accusations that its problems have been understated.

Further misconduct allegations will be aired in the high court on Tuesday, relating to the killing of four members of one Afghan family in 2011 in an SAS night-time raid. The deaths, described in one internal email as “the latest massacre!”, are among 33 suspicious killings involving the special forces in Afghanistan in 2011.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Yachts, Private Jets, and a Picasso Painting: Exposed as 'One of the Largest Frauds in History'
Australia’s Wedgetail Spies Aid NATO Response as Russian MiGs Breach Estonian Airspace
McGowan Urges Chalmers to Cut Spending Over Tax Hike to Close $20 Billion Budget Gap
Victoria Orders Review of Transgender Prison Placement Amid Safety Concerns for Female Inmates
U.S. Treasury Mobilises New $20 Billion Debt Facility to Stabilise Argentina
French Business Leaders Decry Budget as Macron’s Pro-Enterprise Promise Undermined
Trump Claims Modi Pledged India Would End Russian Oil Imports Amid U.S. Tariff Pressure
Surging AI Startup Valuations Fuel Bubble Concerns Among Top Investors
Australian Punter Archie Wilson Tears Up During Nebraska Press Conference, Sparking Conversation on Male Vulnerability
Australia Confirms U.S. Access to Upgraded Submarine Shipyard Under AUKUS Deal
“Firepower” Promised for Ukraine as NATO Ministers Meet — But U.S. Tomahawks Remain Undecided
Brands Confront New Dilemma as Extremists Adopt Fashion Labels
The Sydney Sweeney and Jeans Storm: “The Outcome Surpassed Our Wildest Dreams”
Erika Kirk Delivers Moving Tribute at White House as Trump Awards Charlie Presidential Medal of Freedom
British Food Influencer ‘Big John’ Detained in Australia After Visa Dispute
ScamBodia: The Chinese Fraud Empire Shielded by Cambodia’s Ruling Elite
French PM Suspends Macron’s Pension Reform Until After 2027 in Bid to Stabilize Government
Orange, Bouygues and Free Make €17 Billion Bid for Drahi’s Altice France Telecom Assets
Dutch Government Seizes Chipmaker After U.S. Presses for Removal of Chinese CEO
Bessent Accuses China of Dragging Down Global Economy Amid New Trade Curbs
U.S. Revokes Visas of Foreign Nationals Who ‘Celebrated’ Charlie Kirk’s Assassination
AI and Cybersecurity at Forefront as GITEX Global 2025 Kicks Off in Dubai
DJI Loses Appeal to Remove Pentagon’s ‘Chinese Military Company’ Label
EU Deploys New Biometric Entry/Exit System: What Non-EU Travelers Must Know
Australian Prime Minister’s Private Number Exposed Through AI Contact Scraper
Ex-Microsoft Engineer Confirms Famous Windows XP Key Was Leaked Corporate License, Not a Hack
China’s lesson for the US: it takes more than chips to win the AI race
Australia Faces Demographic Risk as Fertility Falls to Record Low
California County Reinstates Mask Mandate in Health Facilities as Respiratory Illness Risk Rises
Israel and Hamas Agree to First Phase of Trump-Brokered Gaza Truce, Hostages to Be Freed
French Political Turmoil Elevates Marine Le Pen as Rassemblement National Poised for Power
China Unveils Sweeping Rare Earth Export Controls to Shield ‘National Security’
The Davos Set in Decline: Why the World Economic Forum’s Power Must Be Challenged
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
×