Sacking of former Royal Navy chief demonstrates challenge facing the Armed Forces, says 1SL

The First Sea Lord says the sacking of the former head of the Royal Navy for inappropriate behaviour demonstrates the challenge facing the Armed Forces. 

In his first comments about the dismissal of Admiral Sir Ben Key, General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, who replaced him, told MPs it shows the Armed Forces have "some way to go" when it comes to making the changes needed across defence.

Admiral Sir Ben Key was sacked in July last year following an investigation into an alleged relationship with a female colleague.  

• Head of Royal Navy steps back from role due to personal reasons, MOD confirms
• Sacked former First Sea Lord loses rank but not pension, Ministry of Defence says
• As ex-First Sea Lord is sacked, what are military rules and regulations on social conduct?

Gen Sir Gwyn spoke publicly for the first time about Adm Sir Ben's sacking while facing questions from the Defence Committee. Former RAF officer-turned-Labour MP Calvin Bailey asked him to share his thoughts on what happened and his concerns about prevailing conditions in the Armed Forces. 

"I draw two main lessons from the circumstances in which I took the service over," Gen Sir Gwyn said.

"The first is that there are no excuses, that the standards we set and that we expect apply to everybody, and it doesn't matter if you're a service chief or whether you're the most junior rank within the Navy. We will apply our standards to anyone.

"We expect all of us to uphold those standards, particularly as senior leaders," he added. 

"But the second is, and we shouldn't be shy of this, is that it is a demonstration of the challenge that we still have ahead of us. That a service chief can be dismissed tells us that we have some way to go on the systemic change that we need to make within our own services and across the Armed Forces."

He was appearing before MPs alongside his fellow service chiefs as they were asked about the conditions for women serving in the Armed Forces, five years on from the Atherton report, which highlighted serious concerns. The report's author, former defence minister Sarah Atherton, was also watching the exchanges. 

She told BFBS Forces News: "That was interesting because it's the first time we've heard about Ben Key from any senior figure, and I think it's an acknowledgement.

"I think all the service chiefs acknowledge and the minister acknowledges there is a problem... it was good to hear that that was acknowledged because I believe that once you acknowledge something, it's the next step to improving it.

"They absolutely have got a long way to go. So particularly with confidence in the system, in the complaints system and particularly around culture."

Overall, five years on from her report, she wasn't happy with the progress made.

"I was disappointed in what I heard. There was a lack of measurable outcomes and data to demonstrate that the raft of initiatives have had meaningful improvement for the lives of women in the Armed Forces. Has there been progress? Well, yes, there has been, but it's been agonisingly slow and not at the scale that's needed to benefit women in the Armed Forces now or new recruits or indeed to build trust and confidence in the system."

She added: "The direction is right, the pace is wrong and, let's be honest, most service women on the ground won't feel any benefits over the last few years, despite all these initiatives and policy changes."

This was the second year in a row the service chiefs have appeared before MPs to update them on their progress. MPs on the committee stressed the importance of making sure it remains a regular opportunity to hear the latest from the MOD.