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Scottish Sun
9 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Three disgraced former submarine captains stripped of their OBEs by King over sex & bullying scandals
All three were commanders and led crews of more than 130 ORDER OF DAS BOOT Three disgraced former submarine captains stripped of their OBEs by King over sex & bullying scandals Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) THREE disgraced former submarine captains have been stripped of their OBEs by the King. Top brass urged ministers to withdraw the prestigious gongs from the trio over sex and bullying scandals. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up One had made an X-rated film on HMS Victorious and a second, nominated for an OBE during his misconduct probe, licked a female officer's ear, blew on her neck and punched her on HMS Vigilant. Both vessels carry nuclear missiles. The third was found guilty of bullying on nuclear-powered attack sub HMS Trenchant. All three were commanders — James Bond's rank — and led crews of more than 130. read more on royal navy PORN LOCKDOWN Fresh Navy sex scandal as major base 'locked down' over revenge porn claims The Navy asked the Cabinet Office Forfeiture Committee to strip the men of their awards and King Charles gave final approval. It comes after former First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key had vowed to stamp out intolerable behaviour in the service. But he was suspended last month over an alleged affair with a subordinate and could lose his knighthood or CBE. A Defence source said: 'It used to be understood that you'd lose your honour if you went to jail, but this is different. "These guys are guilty of serious misconduct, but they aren't convicted criminals. "It feels like the forfeiture bar has been lowered.' Breaking the Oath: Affair and corruption in the police force A Navy spokesman said: 'Any allegations of unacceptable behaviour are thoroughly investigated, and those found guilty will face serious consequences.' Only eight other Armed Forces' members have forfeited honours this century, all after criminal convictions. They include at least five paedophiles. 1 First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key, who was suspended last month over an alleged affair with a subordinate Credit: Getty Unlock even more award-winning articles as The Sun launches brand new membership programme - Sun Club.
The Sun
10 hours ago
- The Sun
Three disgraced former submarine captains stripped of their OBEs by King over sex & bullying scandals
THREE disgraced former submarine captains have been stripped of their OBEs by the King. Top brass urged ministers to withdraw the prestigious gongs from the trio over sex and bullying scandals. One had made an X-rated film on HMS Victorious and a second, nominated for an OBE during his misconduct probe, licked a female officer's ear, blew on her neck and punched her on HMS Vigilant. Both vessels carry nuclear missiles. The third was found guilty of bullying on nuclear-powered attack sub HMS Trenchant. All three were commanders — James Bond 's rank — and led crews of more than 130. The Navy asked the Cabinet Office Forfeiture Committee to strip the men of their awards and King Charles gave final approval. It comes after former First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key had vowed to stamp out intolerable behaviour in the service. But he was suspended last month over an alleged affair with a subordinate and could lose his knighthood or CBE. A Defence source said: 'It used to be understood that you'd lose your honour if you went to jail, but this is different. "These guys are guilty of serious misconduct, but they aren't convicted criminals. "It feels like the forfeiture bar has been lowered.' Breaking the Oath: Affair and corruption in the police force A Navy spokesman said: 'Any allegations of unacceptable behaviour are thoroughly investigated, and those found guilty will face serious consequences.' Only eight other Armed Forces ' members have forfeited honours this century, all after criminal convictions. They include at least five paedophiles.
Scotsman
6 days ago
- Business
- Scotsman
SNP's naive and immature approach to defence industry needs to change
Vanguard-class submarine HMS Vigilant, one of the four UK subs armed with Trident nuclear missiles, at HM Naval Base Clyde Anyone who thought that Scotland had a grown-up government capable of taking sensible decisions will be appalled by the choices the SNP are making Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... The events of the last week in the Middle East throw into focus ever more sharply the need for Western governments to increase defence capabilities. With the war in Ukraine now well into its fourth year, and with an increasingly isolationist US administration, that means countries like the UK having to devote more resources to military spending. The UK Labour Government is at least giving the appearance of taking this seriously, with the announcement in last week's spending review from the Chancellor Rachel Reeves that defence spending will rise from 2.3 per cent of GDP to 2.6 per cent by 2027. If delivered, this equates to an £11 billion uplift coupled with the £600 million increase for security and intelligence agencies. Within these totals there will be £4.5 billion investment in munitions made across the country, and more than £6 billion to upgrade nuclear submarine production. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad These commitments are important in terms of the obligation on government to properly defend the realm. But they also have a significant economic opportunity attached, and one which will disproportionately benefit Scotland. Already, Scotland's defence sector provides a considerable contribution to the Scottish economy. As of 2023-24, the Ministry of Defence spends almost £2.1 billion per year in Scotland, and more per head of population than in the rest of the UK. Of course, we don't just make military equipment for the UK armed forces. The contribution of the Aerospace, Defence and Security industries to Scotland was estimated at £3.2 billion in 2022, employing 35,500 people and 1,500 apprentices. Right across the country, we see companies providing high-quality well-paid jobs in the STEM sector as part of ADS: BAE Systems building frigates on the Clyde for the Royal Navy and directly employing 2,700 people, Babcock at Rosyth and Faslane supporting more than 3,000 jobs. Leonardo, under different names, long part of the Edinburgh economy, building world-leading avionics, and supplying radar systems for Lockheed Martin amongst others. Thales employing nearly 800 people across two sites in Glasgow and Rosyth. And we have Raytheon in Glenrothes manufacturing the Javelin anti-tank missile being used to great effect by the Ukrainian army against Russian invaders. As it stands, the contribution of defence to the Scottish economy is substantial, and is projected to grow. With governments across the West, including our own, committed to increasing defence spending, the opportunities for expansion and the creation of yet more jobs are substantial. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad One might expect, therefore, that the Scottish Government would be celebrating this defence sector, and doing all it can to support this key sector. We are, after all, continually being told by SNP ministers how much they value the Scottish economy and how they are committed to seeing it grow – a welcome change in rhetoric from the period when they were in coalition with the anti-growth Greens. It was immensely disappointing, therefore, to see that a plan by Rolls-Royce to establish a specialist submarine welding facility on the Clyde has collapsed after Scottish Enterprise withdrew a critical £2.5 million grant for the project. This was an £11 million investment which would have delivered a world-leading facility to support the construction and maintenance of submarines. It was a project that had been developing for years and would have reduced costs, reduced carbon emissions, and created high-value jobs. But as a consequence of SNP policy not permitting public funds to be used for 'munitions' the project cannot receive the funding it seeks, leaving Rolls-Royce with no option but to pull the plug. Steve Carlier, President of Submarines at the company, has stated that: 'The project cannot continue, and the facility will not be built and resourced in Scotland.' Now it looks like another part of the UK, or even another country altogether, will get the benefit of this investment, and these jobs, due to SNP policy. And yet, as Carlier himself has pointed out, this was not a project involving weapons systems, but simply to build nuclear-powered submarines. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, Andrew Bowie MP, put it accurately when he accused the SNP of 'student politics'. It is a naive and immature approach to the defence sector, which will simply do immense damage to the Scottish economy. The SNP have an ambition, as we all know, to create an independent Scotland. Presumably that independent Scotland would have to have armed forces to defend it, who would then need to be supplied with weaponry and equipment. Is it really the SNP's position that these could not be produced at home, but would be better produced elsewhere? Because that is the logic of their refusal to support projects such as Rolls-Royce's naval welding centre. If that were not bad enough, we learnt at the weekend that the Scottish Government have apparently attached conditions to a donation of surplus NHS equipment to Ukraine, stipulating that this must only be used for civilian purposes. This means that those injured in the fight against the despotic government of Vladimir Putin and his illegal invasion of a sovereign country will not be able to benefit from these welcome donations. Anyone who thought that Scotland had a grown-up government capable of taking sensible decisions will be appalled by the choices the SNP are making. This week at Holyrood the Scottish Conservatives will be asking the SNP to think again on their policy towards supporting defence jobs in Scotland. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad
Scotsman
10-06-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
SNP ministers' stance on defence is incoherent - they need to either help or get out of the way
The SNP must get behind defence investment - or get out of the way, writes the GMB's Louise Gilmour. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It is not, as John Healey suggested, student union politics. It is a lot worse than that. Describing the refusal of SNP ministers to support a specialist welding school on the Clyde because the skills taught there will help build nuclear-powered submarines for the Royal Navy, the UK defence secretary correctly suggested it is not the decision of a serious government. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Vanguard-class submarine HMS Vigilant, one of the UK's four nuclear warhead-carrying submarines, at HM Naval Base Clyde | PA It is not serious and neither is it a matter of principle as Mairi Gougeon, the party's rural affairs minister, insisted as she tried to explain how her Cabinet colleagues understood the need for our armed forces, but could not, in good conscience, arm them. Even ignoring the millions of pounds of public money awarded to multinational arms companies by Scottish Enterprise, SNP ministers' insistence that someone should defend our country, just not them, is incoherent verging on the embarrassing. Student politicians had every right to be offended by Healey's comparison. The SNP policy, if that's what they like to call it, is an abdication of responsibility not just for the security of our country, but for its jobs, skills, prosperity and future. This is not just about defence, it is about industry, about manufacturing and engineering. It is about our country and its workers gaining the skills and expertise to build things. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Ministers clambering onto the high ground and holding their nose while refusing the chance to help young working-class Scots thrive can tell each other they are being principled, but other words are available. Hypocritical, for example. Myopic, for another. Self-harming, for the set. The skills learned at the Rolls Royce welding school – and at other companies across the defence sector – will support young workers for the rest of their lives, get them good, well-paid jobs, allow them to buy cars and homes, build families, pay taxes and get on. Our defence companies invent, innovate and, literally, create the jobs of tomorrow. From computers and the internet to canned food and stainless steel, the list of technological advances pioneered by the military, but now underpinning our civilian life is endless. These young people might work in defence projects all their lives, whether making ships and planes or munitions and missiles, but their skills will be transportable and easily transferable to other jobs in other sectors. They could undoubtedly support the industrial strategy long-promised by Scottish ministers if they can stop clutching their pearls long enough to deliver one. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scotland is suffering a debilitating shortage of expertise across all skilled trades as employers struggle to fill vacancies, and creating a pipeline of talent, of industry-leading apprenticeships, must be a hardheaded priority, not some dreamy aspiration. The Fraser of Allander Institute last year detailed the surge in vacancies and a growing mismatch between applicants' skills and employer's requirements. It reported one in four Scots employers had vacancies, with 31 per cent of them being blamed on a skills shortage and trades being an area of particular concern. The problem stretches far beyond defence and is hobbling firms in all sectors, including manufacturing and engineering. Energy is only one example although our transition to renewables is still generating far more talk than jobs. The GMB is in Brighton this week for our annual congress when our reps in Scottish Gas will urge delegates to support calls for governments on both sides of the Border to do far more to deliver the promised transformation of our energy networks to protect existing jobs and create new ones. From making the underground cables needed to refit the National Grid to the wind turbines required offshore and on, an industrial strategy supported by a well-trained workforce will help secure the contracts currently going abroad along with the jobs. GMB Scotland secretary Louise Gilmour | Andrew Cawley Of course, the strategy should include new nuclear energy but, again, SNP ministers have a principle where their ambition should be. The party does not agree with nuclear weapons - although it claims an independent Scotland will join Nato, a nuclear alliance – and apparently also has a problem with nuclear-powered subs. So it is little surprise that John Swinney will not even talk about nuclear power or the kind of Small Modular Reactors being actively planned by dozens of countries around the world, including England. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Principles are no bad thing but, as John Maynard Keynes suggested, like opinions, they should change when the facts change and, from Washington to Moscow, the facts are transformed. We are living in a more uncertain world and, in the future, must better protect our country and our energy. For the SNP to continue opposing nuclear weapons while sheltering beneath them is questionable any time but, right now, seems wilful. So, too, is the apparent determination of both our governments to run down offshore industries and import more of the oil and gas needed for decades to come. Our new, more dangerous world comes with serious challenges, but also clear opportunities, including the chance to reboot Scotland's industrial landscape and create good jobs for our children and their children. That will need resource, but also a sea change in our schools where the overarching assumption that university or college is a better destination for young people than an apprenticeship is steering too many away from skilled trades and well paid work. The increase in defence spending announced by Keir Starmer on a visit to British Aerospace in Glasgow last week can drive growth in places that sorely need it, but only if every pound is spent smartly, stress-tested and charged with underpinning skilled trades, apprenticeships, and jobs. If, on a point of principle, the Scottish Government cannot help, it needs to get out of the way.
Scotsman
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Scotsman
SNP failures on defence could put Scotland at risk from Russia, Labour MP says
Sign up to our Politics newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... SNP failures on defence could put Scotland at risk from Russia, a Scottish Labour MP has warned. Graeme Downie has accused the SNP of refusing to meet with Scottish defence companies and not prioritising the issue at a time of global instability. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Vanguard-class submarine HMS Vigilant, one of the UK's four nuclear warhead-carrying submarines, at HM Naval Base Clyde | PA The Labour MP for Dunfermline & Dollar made the claims after UK ministers committed to permanently stationing UK forces to defend the High North, something Mr Downie asked about in the Commons. Responding for the UK government, Luke Pollard, the armed forces minister, said the UK was committed to maintaining a coherent defence posture in the region and would defend and support the country's Allies should the need arise. Now Mr Downie has accused the SNP of not doing enough on defence and urged Scotland's governing party to commit to supporting the armed forces and defence sector. He told The Scotsman: "The defence of the UK should concern every part of the country and the UK government has restated its commitment to defending the High North, a mission critical to Scotland. Meanwhile, the SNP have failed to support, or in many cases even meet with Scottish defence companies and our armed services to discuss their needs on devolved areas such as skills, infrastructure and economic growth. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'They don't even consider defence as a priority that should be supported in their own economic strategy. That dogmatic position is the kind of division that [Russian president] Vladimir Putin is always keen to exploit and puts Scotland at risk. 'The SNP must commit themselves to supporting both our armed forces, who pay tax and use devolved services, as well as supporting the defence sector providing the materials needed to defend the UK and which are a vital part of the Scottish economy." The High North is seen as a key area of Russian threat with submarines and shipping coming down from Scandinavia and into the North Sea and Atlantic. It is also an area of strategic concern due to Russia's interest in exploiting oil and gas in the Arctic and controlling shipping lanes, which are open more and more due to melting ice caused by climate change. Graeme Downie MP has called for more investment in defence | Graeme Downie SNP MP Dave Doogan, the party's defence spokesperson, claimed Labour were in no place to lecture his party. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He said: "Scottish regiments have been systemically hollowed out and culled under Westminster's watch, with conventional forces decimated under successive Tory and Labour governments. So we will take no lessons from Scottish Labour MPs who have completely and utterly failed to stand up for Scotland. "Rather than playing politics with defence, we have been clear that the UK must work with the EU on defence spending to support Ukraine rather than finding itself increasingly isolated from our European partners. That's the sensible and pragmatic way forward, but the Labour Party is now more beholden to the views of Nigel Farage than anything else.
