We let her down in so many ways, Army officer tells inquest into Jaysley Beck's death

A senior Army officer has apologised for how a teenage Royal Artillery soldier was treated, telling the inquest into her death that the service should have done more.

Brigadier Melissa Emmett was speaking at the hearing into the death of  Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, who was found dead at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on 15 December 2021.

Brig Emmett, the head of the Army Personnel Support Group, said the Army formally accepts failures were made.

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Salisbury Coroner’s Court heard how Gnr Beck had previously been sent thousands of messages from her supervisor and was allegedly pinned down by a senior NCO who tried to kiss her.

After the latter incident, Gnr Beck complained and the NCO was asked to write her a letter of apology.

Five months later, Gnr Beck, was found hanged in her room.

Brig Emmett said: "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."

Reforms have been made

She told assistant coroner Nicholas Rheinberg that it was her earnest wish that the reforms that have been made since Gnr Beck's death mean "we can avoid these things happening again".

Brig  Emmett said changes made include removing the chain of command from the complaint system, the professionalisation of the system and the introduction of anonymous complaints hotlines.

She said the new policies made it clear that everyone was entitled to respect and dignity.

"What the zero-tolerance policies that were issued in 2022 do is make it absolutely unequivocal what is expected of everybody," she added.

The hearing continues.  

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