After a series misconduct scandals, the Defence Secretary will give top brass of the Army a severe reprimand.
Sources revealed that Ben Wallace will be giving generals a rare lambasting next week to express concern over discipline and loss of focus in the Army.
It comes just a day after Kenyan police chiefs announced reopening a murder investigation into the brutal death a woman who was last seen with British soldiers.
Sources reveal that Ben Wallace (pictured), will deliver a unique lambasting to generals next week over fears of discipline collapsing in the Army and the Army losing its focus.
Pictured: Agnes Wanjiru’s stabbed body was found in a septic tank in Nanyuki, Kenya in 2012.
The scandal involving sexual harassment of a female officer-cadet later led to the death of Army chiefs.
General Sir Mark Carleton Smith (the Chief of the General Staff), his deputy Lieutenant General Chris Tickell (the Commander of the Field Army), and Lieutenant General Ralph Wooddisse (the Commander of the Field Army), were among those summoned for this rare reprimand. This is believed to be the first time that a Defence Secretary has called the Army Board for such a telling off in recent years.
Mr Wallace, a former Army officer, is said to have become ‘exasperated’ over the generals’ failure to maintain standards.
Agnes Wanjiru’s stabbed body was dumped in a septic tank at a hotel in Nanyuki, Kenya, where she had been entertaining soldiers from the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment in March 2012. Last month, a soldier claimed that a friend had confessed to her murder.
In September the Daily Mail revealed how instructors at the Army’s prestigious Royal Military Academy Sandhurst had been named ‘interested parties’ at an inquest into the death of Officer Cadet Olivia Perks, 21.
One is accused in an affair with her, before she hanged themselves in 2019. In violation of rules, another warrant officer allegedly invited her into his room after a formal meal. A full inquest is scheduled for next year.
The Army Board meeting will also address the public fallout from disastrous procurement projects such as the £4billion Ajax armoured vehicle which faces being scrapped. Thousands of troops have reported hearing problems after testing Ajax.
The Commons’ public accounts committee also reports today that the Ministry of Defence’s purchasing department is unfit for purpose. It recommends that the MoD is removed from its responsibility for major expenditures and that all major projects be signed off by Treasury and Cabinet Office in the future.
General Sir Mark Carleton Smith (pictured), the Chief on the General Staff, his deputy Lieutenant General Chris Tickell, and Lieutenant General Ralph Wooddisse the Commander of Field Army are among those summoned for rare reprimand
This comes just a day after Kenyan police chiefs announced a reopening a murder probe into a brutal death of a British soldier last seen with Kenyan troops. Pictured: Kenyan sex workers protest against the harassment and murder of their colleagues in the past years on October 26, 2021
Last night a senior defence source said: ‘The Secretary of State has summoned the Army Board to discuss a range of issues affecting the service. This extraordinary summons follows a number of worrying incidents. The meeting will include Ajax, conduct and culture in Army.
‘The Secretary of State has become exasperated over a series of issues.’
An Army spokesman said: ‘The Secretary of State is determined to work with the Army’s leadership to drive out unacceptable behaviour at all levels, particularly with respect to the treatment of women.’