Royal Navy chief apologises for 'intolerable' misogyny and bullying in submarine service
Women in the submarine service were exposed to sexual harassment, misogyny, bullying and rape, an investigation by the Royal Navy has found.
The long-awaited investigation was ordered in October 2022 after allegations by former lieutenant Sophie Brook, who described a “constant campaign of sexual bullying”.
Ms Brook, who has since left the submarine service, said “multiple people” had contacted her with similar concerns after she first went public with her accusations.
The allegations addressed in the report were from 2014 to 2020.
A heavily redacted final report of the investigation into allegations across the submarine service listed multiple incidents of abuse and harassment by male submariners.
Some of them were senior officers, against their female colleagues.
Among the most serious was “at least” one report of rape, while others included lewd comments and sexual gestures.
Administrative action, “up to and including discharge from the Royal Navy”, has been taken against “several individuals”, according to an executive summary published alongside the full report.
The head of the Royal Navy, Sir Ben Key issued an unreserved public apology for the “intolerable” misogyny exposed within its ranks.
In a statement published on Friday, Sir Ben said: “The investigation has confirmed misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours did occur during the investigation period, and this is intolerable.
"During the investigation process, Ms Brook made several requests for redress.
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“Those that are within my gift to offer – I have. When I met with Ms Brook this morning, I apologised to her personally and unreservedly, praising her courage in coming forward.
“As the head of the Royal Navy, today I also offer a public apology, both to Ms Brook and to any personnel – past or present – that have been subject to any form of unacceptable behaviour during their time in service. I am truly sorry.”
He added: “We must be better than this and do better than we have.”
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