Naval officers discharged after report exposes misogyny and bullying

A number of naval officers have been “discharged from service” after a damning report uncovered “intolerable” misogyny, bullying and unacceptable behaviours” onboard the UK’s fleet of nuclear-armed submarines.

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key, the head of the navy, ordered an internal inquiry into sexual harassment and abuse claims made by a number of women including former naval officer Sophie Brook about their treatment while serving in the elite Submarine Service.

Ms Brook, who could have become the first female captain of a submarine but has since left the Navy, revealed that after going public with her experience in November 2022 she had “multiple people contacting me saying the same thing happened to me… that ranged from minor sexual assault all the way up to rape”.

The subsequent probe looked into 71 allegations, spanning a period between 2014 and 2020.

Sir Ben said the “investigation has confirmed misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours did occur during the investigation period, and this is intolerable”.

He revealed he has apologised to Ms Brook “personally and unreservedly, praising her courage in coming forward,” and offered a public apology to her and any former or serving personnel that have been subject to any “unacceptable behaviour”.

He said: “I am truly sorry. While much has been done to improve the experiences of personnel in the Royal Navy in recent years, such as establishing zero tolerance for unacceptable behaviours and improving avenues to raise concerns, there is more to be done.”

He said internal action has been taken against a number of people, including discharge from the service, and the 37 recommendations made after the investigation have been accepted in full.

“Poor practices and behaviours in the past that may have been normalised in some quarters should never have been considered acceptable, and they have no place today,” he added.

“We must institute a culture that does not allow space for this behaviour to exist, and we must deal with perpetrators swiftly, without fear or favour, which I can confirm we have now done.”

Ms Brook joined the Submarine Service after a ban on female submariners was lifted in 2011, but alleged she suffered hostility and harassment from the start.

She said she initially raised concerns internally about her alleged mistreatment but claimed the Royal Navy turned on her, accusing her of fraud and of revealing information about the movement of a submarine.

She was formally dismissed from the service in June 2022 and handed a five-month prison sentence, suspended for 12 months, but by that time, she had already resigned and left the Navy.