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Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Veteran has 'burning fire' to correct pension 'robbery'
Time has not dimmed Ernest Williams' sense of injustice. Despite being 90 years of age, the former Royal Navy veteran says he still has a "burning fire" inside him. He believes he was "robbed" of the military pension he deserved and has been fighting to have it corrected since the 1980s. "I'm coming up to 91 and I haven't got long to go," Mr Williams said. "I'm doing it for my wife." It wasn't until Mr Williams had a chance conversation with his brother-in-law Ronald Oswell, that he says he realised what had happened. The two men had almost identical service records and both applied for redundancy when the UK armed forces looked to reduce numbers in 1969. But while Mr Williams, who lives in King's Stanley, Gloucestershire, was given a discharge date in 1970, his brother-in-law was allocated one in 1972. "He said 'What do you think of the pension, Ernie?'," Mr Williams told BBC West Investigations. "I said, 'Well £440 a year is not very good, is it?' "And he said 'No it's £880 a year'." It transpired that during the intervening two years, military pension rules had changed and had Mr Williams been given the later discharge date he would have got a much better pension. The Ministry of Defence said it cannot comment on individual cases, but during his time campaigning Mr Williams has been told that his pension reflected his "full and correct entitlement". Mr Williams enlisted in the navy aged 18 in 1952, eventually becoming a Chief Petty Officer. He served many years overseas, including on aircraft carriers in the far east. However, as the UK armed forces looked to reduce numbers, he was offered redundancy under a navy programme known as DCI 1187/68. The navy agreed to add time to his service record so that he received a military pension in addition to the state pension. But crucially, Mr Williams says he was not given a say in when he left the armed forces, and rather was told he would leave the navy on 28 November 1970. Others who applied at the same time were given a discharge date in 1972. "You're told when you're going. [Your discharge date] was not disclosed until some time later. There was nothing I could do about it," Mr Williams said. Mr Williams and his wife Wendy believe about 400 men were discharged in the same 'first wave' as him, with about 2,600 going in the 'second wave' in 1972, receiving a substantially improved pension. Mrs Williams said: "What did this 400 do that was so wrong they had to be discriminated against financially?" She added that the extra money would have made a "vast difference" to their lives. The couple launched a series of appeals to various official bodies once they realised what had happened. In May 1984, Mr Williams was told by the MOD that both his and his brother-in-law's pension "are correct" and the disparity was due to "a pay rise for CPO's [Chief Petty Officers] in the intervening two years which is reflected in the basic pension awarded". He continued to fight his case throughout the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s. In 1998, the Armed Forces Personnel Administration Agency told Mr Williams that in the period between the two phases, "changes were made [to the military pension] but these changes were not retrospective" and that his pension reflected his "full and correct entitlement". Over the years Mr Williams has been supported by some of Stroud's MPs. In 2019, Labour MP David Drew wrote to Penny Mordaunt, the Defence Secretary at the time, to highlight Mr Williams' case, believing he was the victim of "an injustice" and had been "unfairly treated". Mr Drew argued that comments made by senior politicians in the late 1960s about intended improvements to military pay meant that possible differences in pensions should have been foreseen. He describes Mr Williams' case as "shocking" and that "both the process and the documentation surrounding the volunteer redundancies were ethically flawed". But ultimately, Mr Williams received the same answer from everybody he asked to look at his case – that his pension was correct based on the rules at the time. Mr Williams still maintains that before he left, he never had the effect of different discharge dates explained to him – and that he would never have accepted redundancy on the earlier date had he known an extra two years would have effectively doubled his pension. Mr Williams' case has similarities to a fight waged by other military veterans over their pensions. Jim Monaghan was involved with the Equality for Veterans Association (EfVA) which also campaigned against pension decisions in the 1970s. Military rules before April 1975 meant that in most circumstances, servicemen had to serve 22 years to be eligible for an armed forces pension in addition to the state pension. Mr Monaghan left the RAF at the end of 1974, having accrued 14 years' service, including in Singapore and the middle east. Had he left a few months later, he would have received a military pension. The rule change in 1975, like rules on pensions generally, were not retrospective. The issue was debated in parliament in 2015, with then-Defence Minister Anna Soubry saying making changes to pension policy retrospective would break an "essential principle" and "would lead to widespread, long-term and unmanageable consequences for both this government and future governments". Mr Monaghan believes communication from the MOD was not good enough. "Everyone was kept in the dark," he said. "They knew nothing about [pensions] when they were young. "We never had a brief on pensions. We were never given any insight and probably we didn't have any interest because I was a young man." The Equalities for Veterans Association was disbanded a few years ago – because of a lack of success and the dwindling number of surviving veterans from that period. Mr Williams says he feels "very bitter" about his experience but hopes that by speaking out publicly for the first time, he can bring more attention to his case. He also hopes any other servicemen still alive and affected by the same issue will come forward. He added he intends to continue his campaign by contacting the current Stroud MP, Labour's Simon Opher, in the hope he will take up the case. Mr Williams said: "I'm just a stubborn old sod and I'm not going to give in. I would appreciate it if anybody said to me 'you were right and we were wrong'." Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. WW2 veteran 'heartbroken' after meeting minister Gurkha veterans threaten renewed hunger strike Compensation process broken, says RAF veteran War widows who lost pensions to receive compensation Ministry of Defence
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Yahoo
Caught red handed: Policing the men buying sex
WARNING: This article contains details of a sexual nature. If you have been affected by anything in this story, help can be found at the BBC Action line. The commercial sex industry is highly complex, with debate on how to police the issue. In Bristol, dedicated teams are engaging with street sex workers whilst disrupting kerb crawlers. Their aim is to combat night-time exploitation and harm, focusing on criminalising the men, rather than the women. Now BBC West Investigations has been given exclusive access to witness the impact of their work. It's nine o'clock on a bitterly cold Monday evening and as temperatures dip below freezing, we are heading out with the Op Boss and Night Light police teams. The streets are quieter than usual, but travelling in an unmarked police car we come across a number of women working on the streets. We're with Op Boss officers Siggi Gilleburg and Jordan Daruvalla, who are constantly keeping an eye out for potential "exchanges". Shortly after leaving, we're alerted to a man seen heading into the bushes with a known sex worker. We're in a residential part of Bristol, with a children's play area right next to it. Not necessarily the sort of place you'd expect sex work to be happening. The man is pretty shocked to see us, but quickly accepts he was in the wrong. "Caught red handed I guess," he says. Loitering with a street sex worker is considered anti-social behaviour and he is issued with a community protection warning that will stay in place for 12 months. This restricts the areas where he can go and he could face criminal action if he continues to go into them. It is legal in the UK for a person to buy sexual services or be a sex worker. But associated activities such as kerb crawling, having sex in public and a sex worker loitering in a street or public place are illegal. While some police forces still target women for loitering, the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) now recommends not criminalising the women - who are often vulnerable - and instead targeting the men. This is the idea behind Op Boss, which has been running for 15 years in Bristol and was an early adopter of the NPCC's Nordic Model approach to policing sex work. "We go out about 10 police officers in plain clothes under a directed surveillance authority," explains Rose Brown, an Avon and Somerset Police sex work liaison officer. "We have someone who's monitoring what's going on in the red-light area from CCTV and we primarily take the Nordic approach - so we look to safeguard the women and disrupt the men who are coming into the area to purchase sex." In an 18-month period, 145 offences have been dealt with by the Op Boss team. More than 1,000 men have been sent on a course to prevent reoffending and to learn about the women's vulnerabilities since Op Boss started. Across an eight-month period we spent seven shifts with the Op Boss and Night Light teams and encountered men of all ages from all walks of life. On another night with the team, we were alerted to a man on a bike spotted talking to a sex worker before heading towards some trees on the edge of a park. In keeping with the project, the officers spoke to the woman who was then free to go – and they instead targeted the man. It was clear he was pretty shaken by what happened and told me: "I wonder what I'd done wrong." He was adamant he didn't realise the woman was a sex worker - although the woman told police that a sexual service had been agreed, before he changed his mind. He was issued with a community protection warning for anti-social behaviour and said he wouldn't be returning to the area any time soon. And it's not just men on their own out on the prowl. On one of the shifts the team was alerted to a group of three men, seen talking to a sex worker who then got into their car. By the time we arrived, the car was steaming up. It turned out to be three university students – one had agreed to pay for sex, encouraged by his two friends. Siggi explained it was not uncommon to come across students buying sex. This tactic of disrupting and criminalising the men though is not how all police forces work. "Avon and Somerset have been sort of the national lead in relation to taking a safeguarding approach to the women," Rose said. "And our relationship has really come on leaps and bounds with the women." Before every patrol, the Op Boss and Night Light teams have a briefing at the station. They also pack warm clothes, hot drinks and food. These, as well as other supplies like condoms, rape alarms and other safety devices, will be given out to the sex workers the team talk to while on patrol. The Night Light team is a collaboration between the police, children's charity Barnardo's and the city council. Working alongside Op Boss, Night Light offers support and seeks information from the street workers about any young people at risk. Travelling around the city with Night Light's Rose and Jo Ritchie, a Barnardo's social worker, the trust between the team and the women is clear to see. Not long into a shift we encounter a woman on a street corner. She tells Rose and Jo about a man who has been talking about raping children in Thailand and they ask for his description. It is these insights and intelligence that are helping the project's success. Jo and Rose offer another woman a drink and ask her if she has seen any children on the street. "If I've seen young ones, I will tell you because you know... When I was like about 13, 14, I was out here. I shouldn't have been. I was underage and it shouldn't have happened," she says. The woman's experience is shared by many. "Time and time again, we hear them say, 'I wish this had been running when I was a kid, because perhaps I wouldn't be out here now'," Jo tells us. I ask Jo and Rose how they've worked on building trust over time, particularly when the relationship between street sex workers and the police has been difficult in the past. "I think probably it's because it's consistent faces going out and they trust us," Rose explains. "This project's really helped to break down those barriers." Dan Vajzovic, the NPCC lead for the policing of sex work, says Avon and Somerset's work is "exemplary". "We're trying to develop an approach that recognises the vulnerability of many of the women who sell sex on the streets... and target serious criminals as well as improving the safety of sex workers. "The success in Bristol speaks for itself and it would be great to see this replicated across all forces in England and Wales." Representatives from a number of other police forces have been out with the teams in Bristol in the hope of setting up similar approaches to Op Boss and Night Light. And at a time when there's been such a spotlight on violence against women and girls and how to tackle it, it couldn't be more timely. Follow BBC West on Facebook, X and Instagram. Send your story ideas to: westinvestigations@ or via WhatsApp on 0800 313 4630. How street sex workers are helping police stop child abuse Increase in vulnerable women selling sex on the street Sex worker charity confirms two services to close Avon and Somerset Police
