Senior officer admits Army ‘should have done more’ before teenage soldier was found hanged
A senior officer has told an inquest the Army “should have done more” before the death of teenage soldier Jaysley Beck.
The 19-year-old Royal Artillery Gunner was found hanged in her room at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire in December 2021, following allegations of harassment by her supervisor and another senior soldier.
On Monday, Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of the army personnel services group, told Salisbury coroner’s court: “We let her down in so many ways for which we have already apologised, and if I can apologise again, for what it’s worth, I would do.
“What is clear is that irrespective of the policies we had in place and the training, somehow people did not understand what was expected of them and didn’t have the confidence to act.
“We left Jaysley not aware of how she could raise her concerns and have the confidence to be listened to.
“On a personal level, listening to the doubt and the fear that she had, the good encouragement of her friends to report, but the lack of confidence that they had in reporting, and the well-meaning but erroneous actions of the chain of command, I have found personally very grieving.
“We could have, and we should have, done more.”
Jaysley Beck at her passing out parade and, below, with fellow soldiers – Family Handout/PA Wire
Brig Emmett told Nicholas Rheinberg, the assistant coroner, that it was her “earnest wish” that reforms introduced since Gunner Beck’s death mean “we can avoid these things happening again”.
The changes made include removing the chain of command from the complaint system, the professionalisation of the system, and the introduction of anonymous complaints hotlines.
Brig Emmett said the new policies “made it very clear that everyone was entitled to respect and dignity”.
She went on: “What the zero-tolerance policies issued in 2022 do is make it absolutely unequivocal what is expected of everybody.”
The inquest has previously been told Gunner Beck was sent thousands of messages by her supervisor, and was allegedly pinned down by a senior soldier who tried to kiss her.
After the latter incident, Gunner Beck complained, and the senior soldier was asked to write her an apology letter.
Five months later, the teenage soldier was found hanged in her room.
The inquest also heard on Monday from Tamzin Hort, now 23, a former soldier and friend of Gunner Beck, who spoke of how women in the Army were subjected to “disgusting” comments from male colleagues.
Ms Hort, who has since left the Army, said: “I was with my partner for three years but as the only girl in my battery, I got a lot of unwanted attention from a lot of the lads, especially if they had had a drink.
“I couldn’t walk out of my block without getting nasty comments. That goes for the majority of females, not just in Larkhill.”
Jaysley Beck with fellow soldiers
Ms Hort told the inquest people would knock on her door and she at first left it unlocked, but then began locking it due to concerns people would walk in when she was sleeping.
The former soldier described one incident in which she returned home from the pub and found a sergeant outside her room with a condom. She said “I was 17.
“You can imagine how scared I was. It happens to every female. It is not just in 47 Regiment.”
Ms Hort said she did not complain about the incident, adding that on an occasion when she received therapy through the Army welfare services, “somehow everyone knew about it”.
The inquest also heard from Gunner Beck’s former boyfriend, an Army instructor whom she met in basic training.
George Higgins, a former sergeant who has now left the Army, was a trainer at the Army foundation college in Harrogate and eight years Gunner Beck’s senior when she began her training aged 16 in 2019.
Mr Higgins told the inquest their relationship did not begin until her one-year course was complete and she was posted to the Royal Artillery.
He admitted he was unfaithful to Gunner Beck during their relationship, and insisted he believed there was an “equal balance” between them despite him being older and more senior in rank.
He also refused to answer a series of questions about when he first had sex with Gunner Beck and whether he had sex with other recruits at Harrogate.
The hearing continues.
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