Soldier found dead in barracks was ‘degraded' by senior officers
A friend of Lance Corporal Bernard Mongan said 'bullying would be an understatement' as he described how the father-of-three was 'shouted, screamed and swore at', made to clean senior officers' cars in his own time and 'forced' to do extra runs in his lunch break without being given time to eat.
L/Cpl Mongan's decomposing body was discovered on January 23 2020 in his bedroom at Catterick Garrison, North Yorkshire, three weeks after he was last seen.
An inquest at North Yorkshire Coroner's Court has heard his cause of death is still 'unascertained' as decomposition made it difficult for doctors to determine.
On Tuesday, former corporal Stephen Timmerman, who lived in the same accommodation block as L/Cpl Mongan, told the hearing he 'wasn't treated the same way' as other soldiers in their squadron.
He said: 'He was given tasks that he shouldn't have been given, and just the general way he was spoken to by higher ranks.
'His seniors, quite a few times, he would be left to do their work for them in his own time.'
Mr Timmerman said he could remember three occasions when L/Cpl Mongan, 33, was given a military Land Rover to clean that was not his.
He said that on a military exercise around three months before his death, L/Cpl Mongan was 'shouted and screamed at' in front of other soldiers by his own superior officers in his own department for carrying out an order from another department.
Mr Timmerman, who has since retired from the Army, said: 'It was very aggressive, very abrupt, some swearing … It was very harsh language and it wasn't his fault, he was carrying out an order he was told to do.'
He said that on the same exercise, L/Cpl Mongan was told to help other departments set up their radio masts but was refused help with his own and told to 'do it himself'.
Mr Timmerman said L/Cpl Mongan was put on remedial physical training after failing a fitness test, but was also 'forced to go for an extra run on the same day and given no time for having lunch and breakfast'.
He described L/Cpl Mongan as a 'cuddly teddy bear' who may have been a 'soft target' because he was 'a nice guy who took things easier'.
He told the inquest L/Cpl Mongan had issues with two sergeants and was 'undermined' and 'come down on very harshly', saying he had been considering a service complaint.
Asked if he was bullied, Mr Timmerman said: 'I would say that was an understatement.'
He told the hearing: 'They spoke to Bernie as if he was inconsequential,' adding that he had been spoken to 'like a piece of shit' and 'degraded'.
Asked if he was aware one officer 'had been posting videos on a WhatsApp group of humiliations of Bernie', Mr Timmerman said: 'I didn't know about that.'
The inquest heard L/Cpl Mongan had been selected for a detachment with 77 Brigade, which was due to start in January 2020, but that his room at Catterick would be kept for him while he was away so he could use it for visits with his three daughters.
Mr Timmerman said: 'There was a noticeable change in him, he was happy, he was ready to move away.'
The hearing was told L/Cpl Mongan had separated from his wife and spent Christmas at another soldier's house.
Mr Timmerman said he last saw him at the barracks on December 27, telling the inquest: 'He was very happy and couldn't wait to go for a detachment. He said: 'Have a good New Year, hopefully see you soon.''
The witness said he returned from a trip to Scotland on January 5 but was not expecting to see L/Cpl Mongan as he was due to be on detachment by then.
The inquest heard he started to notice an 'unusual smell' in the block after a few days, and on January 22, followed it down L/Cpl Mongan's corridor to realise it was coming from inside his room.
Mr Timmerman said the other rooms on L/Cpl Mongan's corridors were occupied but the soldiers were 'always away for work'.
He said once he realised where the smell was coming from he spoke to a superior officer about getting the keys for the room, and the two of them went in with a civilian staff member the next morning to find L/Cpl Mongan's body lying face down on his bed.
The inquest heard L/Cpl Mongan had tried to kill himself several times and spent time at a recovery centre run by Help For Heroes.
Former Royal Marine Jules Burnard, who struck up a friendship with him when they met at the facility, said he had last seen L/Cpl Mongan on January 1 2020, and that he had been 'very positive' and looking forward to the detachment.
Mr Burnard said L/Cpl Mongan had opened up to him about being bullied and how that had affected his mental health.
He told the hearing: 'He was a lovable, likeable, upbeat person. There was nothing not to like about Bernie.'
Captain Ben Atkin, who was Regimental Sergeant Major for L/Cpl Mongan's battalion, said he was never told that he had left the Irish Guards after being injured in a skiing accident, or that he had made several suicide attempts before arriving in the unit.
Asked if that was a significant failure in communication, he said: 'It's an issue, it's a failing, the system should have worked.'
Captain Atkin said the only time L/Cpl Mongan was discussed in regular welfare meetings was when he was the victim of an assault by two soldiers outside the battalion while on a night out in Catterick.
He told the inquest that towards the end of L/Cpl Mongan's life, he 'stopped looking soft and started looking more built,' and said he was pleased he seemed to be overcoming his issue with fitness.
Asked about L/Cpl Mongan being made to do extra runs, Captain Atkin said: 'Physical exercise is not allowed to be used in the British Army as a punishment. It's completely inappropriate and if I had seen it, I would have stopped it.'
The inquest, which is scheduled to last for three weeks, continues.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
BP, Shel, CVX: Oil Stocks Give Mixed Reception to Ukraine Peace Hopes as Prices Slide
The prospect of peace in Ukraine hasn't brought much joy to the oil price as it slid in early trading today. Elevate Your Investing Strategy: Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence. Brent crude futures lost 0.7% to trade at $65.09 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate futures retreated by 1% to $62.82 a barrel. Peace Summit The drop came after what appeared to be a successful meeting at the White House between President Trump, Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy and a gaggle of European leaders, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer. In a social media post following the meeting, Trump said he had spoken with Russian president Vladimir Putin and was working to arrange a summit between Putin and Zelenskyy, to be followed by a meeting of all three leaders. An end to the conflict, calming at least one of the main geopolitical crises around the world would be a plus for the global economy. But, it might not be so welcome in the balance between oil supply and demand. That's because a deal could see the lifting of sanctions on Russian crude exports bringing more oil onto the market, at a time when demand is still volatile. 'An outcome which would see a ratcheting down of tensions and remove threats of secondary tariffs or sanctions would see oil drift lower toward our $58 per barrel Q4-25/Q1-26 average target,' said Bart Melek, head of commodity strategy at TD Securities. Stocks React Suvro Sarkar, lead energy analyst at DBS Bank, added: 'Oil prices are largely responding to outcomes of recent meetings between Trump-Putin and Trump-Zelenskyy and while no outright peace deal or ceasefire seems imminent, there has been some progress made and chances of further escalation or intensification of sanctions on Russia from US or Europe may be off the table for now.' All of these key stocks have had a volatile 2025 to date hit by international issues such as Ukraine and Iran, as well as tariff fears. That uncertainty may be down to tempered expectations over whether the current talks will actually lead to an end in hostilities. According to the Wall Street Journal, cryptocurrency-based prediction market, Polymarket, currently points to a 38% chance of a ceasefire, well below the 78% seen in March.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Unpacking rumor Kristi Noem had affair with Corey Lewandowski
In mid-August 2025, a rumor spread on social media that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem was having an affair with Corey Lewandowski, a former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump. Speculation about a romantic relationship between the pair had circulated online since at least September 2021, when the conservative website American Greatness reported allegations that Noem and Lewandowski were involved in an extramarital affair. The allegation resurfaced two years later when U.K. tabloid newspaper Daily Mail published an article about the alleged affair. Both have publicly denied the claim on multiple occasions and reports of an alleged romantic relationship have primarily relied on anonymous sources. Snopes was unable to independently verify allegations that Noem and Lewandowski had an affair. In mid-August 2025, a rumor spread online that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem was having an affair with Corey Lewandowski, a former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump. Social media posts making the claim included an image of Noem, who previously served as South Dakota's governor, standing next to Lewandowski. The posts also featured the logo of left-leaning media outlet MeidasTouch. Multiple Snopes readers contacted us with questions about their alleged romantic relationship, with one asking: "Did Kristi Noem have an affair with Lewandowski?" However, the rumor has circulated online since at least September 2021, when the conservative website American Greatness reported (archived) that the two were allegedly involved in an extramarital affair, citing multiple anonymous sources. The allegation resurfaced two years later when British tabloid newspaper Daily Mail published an article (archived) claiming the pair had engaged in a yearslong "clandestine affair." On the same day, MeidasTouch also published an article (archived) and Facebook post about the alleged romantic relationship, citing the Daily Mail's reporting. In September 2022, Lewandowski accepted a plea deal to resolve allegations that he made unwanted sexual advances toward a Republican Party donor at a Las Vegas event, as The Associated Press reported. The AP added that he did "not admit to any wrongdoing." More recently, he has faced scrutiny in his role as a special government employee with DHS. Axios reported on Aug. 14, 2025, that Lewandowski acts as Noem's "de facto chief of staff." Snopes was unable to independently verify whether Noem and Lewandowski were having or were ever engaged in an affair. Reports making the claim have primarily relied on anonymous sources — therefore, we were unable to scrutinize their allegations — and both of them have publicly denied the rumor on multiple occasions. The White House and DHS did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication. Below is a breakdown of the reports about an alleged affair between Noem and Lewandowski. Noem dismissed affair rumor after American Greatness report On Sept. 28, 2021, American Greatness published a report (archived) citing anonymous sources who alleged Noem and Lewandowski had been involved in a monthslong relationship. One source reportedly told the conservative website that some members of Congress referred to the affair as "an open secret." American Greatness did not provide further details about the alleged affair in its article. The following day, Noem, who was serving as South Dakota's governor at the time, dismissed the rumor on Twitter (now X) by calling it "total garbage and a disgusting lie." Multiple news media outlets reported her response. (Twitter, now X) "These old, tired attacks on conservative women are based on a falsehood that we can't achieve anything without a man's help," Noem tweeted. "I love [my husband] Bryon. I'm proud of the God-fearing family we've raised together. Now I'm getting back to work." Daily Mail reports reignited speculation about alleged affair In September 2023, the Daily Mail published an article (archived) claiming the pair had been engaged in a "years-long clandestine affair" that began "in 2019, if not before." According to the newspaper, neither Noem nor Lewandowski denied the affair when initially contacted. The outlet reported that Noem released a statement criticizing the article's timing while Lewandowski did not respond to a request for comment. However, a spokesperson for Noem reportedly pushed back after the article was published, insisting the two never had an affair, the Daily Mail reported. The British tabloid claimed that its investigation "uncovered extensive evidence" of a romantic relationship, including "dozens of trips that mixed business with pleasure, flights on donors' private planes, and stays at luxury resorts where their intimacy was observed and noted." According to the Daily Mail, former Trump operative Charles Johnson described one such incident, writing in a Substack post that he had seen the pair behaving "in a very flirtatious manner" during an August 2020 meeting of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) at The Cloister resort on Sea Island, Georgia. Although it was not possible to find the exact post in which Johnson reportedly said this, he did post a Substack article in which he claimed Noem and Lewandowski "seemed to be dating" at the Sea Island event "despite being married to other people" (archived). Johnson reportedly told the Daily Mail that he saw Noem "discreetly take Lewandowski's hand and put it in her lap" as he "put his arm on her back." The newspaper alleged that the pair became "virtually inseparable companions on the Trump [2020] campaign trail" and that their relationship was an "open secret" at the White House and among GOP lobbyists and political consultants at the time. In another example, the tabloid said Noem and Lewandowski attended the Republican Governors Association event at the St. Regis in Aspen, Colorado, in summer 2021. Sources reportedly told the paper that Noem missed several events she was expected to attend, with one person alleging she was "holed up" with Lewandowski at a nearby hotel. However, it was not possible to independently verify the details in the Daily Mail article. After the report was published, a spokesperson for Noem denied the allegation, calling it "false." In a statement provided to Sioux Falls Live, a news media outlet based in South Dakota, Noem's spokesperson also criticized the Daily Mail for allegedly failing to publish Noem's denial of the affair and accused the outlet of relying on a reporter with a history of "questionable journalistic integrity." The statement read, in part: It is shameful that Sioux Falls Live would report based on a false and inflammatory tabloid rumor. It was also false that Governor Noem did not deny the allegation to the Daily Mail. They failed to print the denial and failed to appropriately correct the story when that failure was pointed out to them. As Governor Noem said during her endorsement speech for President Trump: 'Yes, I will be attacked for speaking the truth to all of you tonight. Yes, I expect Joe Biden, these candidates, their political operatives, and the media will perpetuate ugly, hateful misinformation in an attempt to destroy me and my family because of my opinions. It's nothing new. I'm getting used to it honestly.' Unfortunately, the Daily Mail piece was par for the course for this individual's history as a reporter with questionable journalistic integrity. In April 2025, the Daily Mail published another report (archived) claiming Noem and Lewandowski were living in rental apartments located across the street from each other in the Navy Yard neighborhood of Washington, D.C. A resident of Noem's building reportedly told the tabloid: "I've seen them together here both in the elevator and in common areas." The Daily Mail also published photos that it claimed showed Lewandowski leaving Noem's apartment complex with a duffel bag. In April 2025, the Wall Street Journal reported that Lewandowski denied the alleged affair. We have reached out to the White House and DHS for comment about the allegations and will update this story if we receive a response. Snopes has previously addressed numerous rumors about Noem, including one accurate claim that she said "only the liberals and the extremists" make fun of women's looks. Her statement was a response to an episode of "South Park" that satirized the DHS secretary and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ashford, Ben, and Shawn Cohen. "ICE Barbie Kristi Noem and Homeland Security Advisor Corey Lewandowski's Cozy DC Living Arrangement Revealed." Mail Online, Daily Mail, 30 Apr. 2025, Accessed 18 Aug. 2025. Chamlee, Virginia. "Governor Slams 'Disgusting Lie' She Was Involved with Trump Aide as Separate Woman Accuses Him of Harassment." 30 Sept. 2021, Accessed 18 Aug. 2025. Esposito, Joey. 'Kristi Noem Said "only the Liberals and the Extremists" Make Fun of Women's Looks'. Snopes, 8 Aug. 2025, Gibson, Brittany, and Marc Caputo. "Scoop: White House Suspicious of Lewandowski's 'Temp' Work." Axios, 14 Aug. 2025, Accessed 18 Aug. 2025. Gonzalez, Pedro. "Kristi Noem Shows Why Republicans Can't Have Nice Things." American Greatness, 29 Sept. 2021, Accessed 18 Aug. 2025. Governor Kristi Noem on Twitter: 'These Rumors Are Total Garbage and a Disgusting Lie. These Old, Tired Attacks on Conservative Women Are Based on a Falsehood That We Can't Achieve Anything without a Man's Help. I Love Bryon. I'm Proud of the God-Fearing Family We've Raised Together. Now I'm Getting Back to Work'. 1 Oct. 2021, Johnson, Charles. 'Did A U.S. Senate Candidate Ask Me For A Bribe?' Charles Johnson's Thoughts and Adventures, 14 Oct. 2022, 'Kristi Noem'. National Governors Association, 7 Jan. 2023, Kristi Noem Articles | Accessed 19 Aug. 2025. LaCapria, Kim. 'Donald Trump Fires Campaign Manager'. Snopes, 20 Jun. 2016, Lalley, Patrick. "Noem Spokesman: 'the Allegation of an Affair Is False.'" Sioux Falls Live, 20 Sept. 2023, Accessed 18 Aug. 2025. Parti, Tarini, et al. 'How Corey Lewandowski Became Kristi Noem's Gatekeeper at DHS'. The Wall Street Journal, 17 Apr. 2025, "Plea Deal for Ex-Trump Adviser Accused of Unwanted Advances." AP News, 30 Sept. 2022, Accessed 18 Aug. 2025. Rascouët-Paz, Anna. '8 Rumors about Kristi Noem'. Snopes, 15 Jul. 2025, Silverstein, Ken, and Laura Collins. "EXCLUSIVE: Married South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem and Trump Advisor Corey Lewandowski Have Been Having a Years-Long Clandestine Affair." Mail Online, Daily Mail, 15 Sept. 2023, Accessed 18 Aug. 2025.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Iraq and Afghanistan veteran launches Democratic campaign against Sen. Susan Collins in Maine
Graham Platner, a 40-year-old Army and Marine veteran who served four combat tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, launched his campaign for the Senate in Maine on Tuesday, joining a growing Democratic primary field seeking to take on Republican Sen. Susan Collins. Platner, an oyster farmer who was born and raised in Sullivan, Maine, will run on a platform of universal health care, housing affordability and ending U.S. involvement in foreign wars. 'I feel an obligation to protect this place and protect the people in it,' Platner said in an interview. Platner joins a growing Democratic primary field that features Jordan Wood, a former chief of staff to former Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., and David Costello, who challenged independent Sen. Angus King last year. Democratic Gov. Janet Mills has said she is considering getting into the contest, while Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, has opted against joining the budding primary in what, on paper, might look like Democrats' best opportunity to flip a Senate seat in 2026. Collins is the only Republican senator who represents a state Kamala Harris carried in the last presidential election. But she has proven a tough opponent in blue Maine. In her last campaign, in 2020, she beat Democratic opponent Sarah Gideon by more than 8 percentage points, even as Donald Trump lost Maine by more than 9 points. Republicans have a 53-47 majority in the Senate, meaning Democrats would need to flip four seats in the 2026 midterms to take the majority. Platner said his experience in the military helped shape his political perspective as he prepared his campaign. 'When I joined the Marine Corps, I joined up because I really, truly believed in the American project,' he said. 'I wanted to fight for something I loved and that I thought was good in Iraq and Afghanistan. I watched both failed policies, failed strategies, failed tactics being used over and over and over again.' 'There's a point where you have to start asking yourself what is the point of this,' he added. 'Why are you doing this? And when I went back as a security contractor in 2018, what I began to realize is that I was just watching vast amounts of taxpayer money getting put into the pockets of defense contractors, of security contractors, of this whole apparatus that almost seemed to exist merely to take taxpayer money and put it into somebody's private bank account. And in seeing that up close for a while, it turned me into a deeply, deeply cynical and angry guy. From that I began to kind of look at our larger political system, our larger economic system, and you just begin to see the same exact thing.' Platner is seeking to connect with working-class voters who've migrated toward the GOP in recent cycles. He pointed to Golden, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as figures offering hope for the Democratic Party nationally and in his state. 'If we focus primarily on fighting for working-class values, fighting for policies that help working-class people, clawing back a lot of the power that has been consolidated in the kind of higher establishment-class politics, I think if you stick to that stuff, you can win,' Platner said. 'And getting dragged into many of these minor culture war fights is not remotely the answer.' 'I don't just identify with the more of the left parts of the party. People like Jared Golden are doing an excellent job. That's why he's been able to hold on to a Democratic seat in a Trump district,' Platner said. In a statement responding to Platner's launch, Jason Savage, executive director of the Maine GOP, excoriated Platner for appealing to Democrats' left flank. 'Being a Bernie Bro and Kamala Harris donor is a profile to appeal to Portland progressives, not centrist and conservative voters in rural Maine," Savage said. The National Republican Senatorial Committee said in its own statement that Collins was unfazed by Platner's campaign. "While Maine Democrats have to duke it out in an increasingly crowded and messy primary, Susan Collins is singularly focused on delivering for Mainers and fighting for common-sense policies that improve the lives of workers and families," said Joanna Rodriguez, an NRSC spokesperson. In his launch video, Platner excoriated 'billionaires and corrupt politicians profiting off and destroying our environment, driving our families into poverty and crushing the middle class,' saying his military experience made him unafraid to 'name an enemy, and the enemy is the oligarchy.' 'I'm not fooled by this fake charade of Collins' deliberations and moderation,' he said. 'The difference between Susan Collins and Ted Cruz is at least Ted Cruz is honest about selling us out and not giving a damn." This article was originally published on
