RAF Man Jailed For 'Racist' Comment

An RAF serviceman who told people to join the military as "you get to kill" black people "without going to prison" has been jailed.

Senior aircraftman Micheal Saunders wrote the comment underneath a video showing black men allegedly assaulting a woman.

The 26-year-old posted the message between May and August last year.

Mr Saunders, who is based at RAF Honington in Suffolk, removed the message within around 30 minutes but a colleague posted it in a WhatsApp group.

A court was told that a black colleague saw the post and refused to work with him, saying he "didn't trust him".

Prosecuting, Major Neil Keery said:

“A black colleague took offence to the post, he accepts it was not directed towards him personally but directed towards his ethnic group.”

“During his initial interview Saunders showed remorse for the comment, it was noticed when it was read back to him he was embarrassed and apologised.”

The court heard that Saunders claimed he was not a racist and removed the post when he realised what he had done.

It was claimed his reaction was down to the men attacking women rather than ethnicity.

Saunders pleaded guilty in a military court to one count of improper use of a public communication network.

He was sentenced to 28 days detention, which was reduced to 24 due to his early guilty plea.