Police widen investigation into alleged sexual abuse at medical examinations to all three services

Wiltshire Police have widened their Army inquiry to all three services as they investigate alleged sexual abuse at both enlistment and subsequent mandatory medical assessments.

So far, more than 700 people have come forward to speak to the police, with allegations ranging from the 1970s until 2016 at several British military locations in the UK.

Operation Pianora was launched after hundreds of British Army personnel reported being sexually abused while undergoing medical examinations during recruitment.

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The remit of the inquiry was expanded after allegations of assault were made.

"We'd like to hear from anyone who has information that would assist my inquiry, so we know more about what has happened," said Senior Investigating Officer Detective Superintendent Darren Hannant.

"That's from either serving personnel, retired personnel, or even people who went through the enlistment process and chose not to enlist, from the Army, Navy, Air Force, any of the services.

"The date range, that is from the late 70s into the mid-2015s, but that's really just reflective of the reporting we've had.

"If we get a report that's before or after that date, we will deal with it."

Louise Sandher-Jones, the Veterans and People Minister, has outlined the need for reform within the military.

"We're taking a systems approach to this so that victims know that they will be listened to and supported from the very moment they start to speak to somebody," she told BFBS Forces News.

"We've got a whole range of changes we're making to the service justice system to make that better.

"We're widening the legal responsibility on commanders to make sure that they have a duty, a legal duty, to report when they are made aware of a possible sexual assault.

"And crucially, we're also rolling out a pilot of a task force, which is looking at improving how we educate the next generation of people who are coming into our Armed Forces."

Wiltshire Police are encouraging anyone with information relating to Operation Pianora to get in touch via their website.