Latest news with #RoyalMilitaryPolice
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
'Darkest days' for father of missing Katrice Lee
The father of a two-year-old girl who vanished in 1981 has revealed how his vow to solve the mystery led him away from thoughts of self-harm. No trace has ever been found of Katrice Lee, who went missing on her birthday near a military base in Germany where her father Richard was stationed. In an episode of the new BBC podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story, he reveals how he contemplated taking his own life, but instead promised Katrice's sister, Natasha Walker, that he would continue his fight for answers. Ms Walker, who lives in Hampshire, said the podcast revealed her father's "darkest days". The first episode recounts how Katrice was with her mother Sharon and aunt Wendy at a Naafi supermarket in Paderborn on 28 November 1981, the girl's second birthday. Katrice ran off down an aisle and was never seen again. Authorities in Germany were initially suspicious of her parents and also speculated that Katrice had wandered unchallenged to the River Lippe and drowned. However, Mr Lee, from Hartlepool, said the case should have been treated as a possible abduction. He told the programme: "It was a nightmare that I didn't think would still be a nightmare 42 years later. I've never left day one in reality." In 2012, Royal Military Police apologised for mistakes in their initial investigation. Five years later, the force revealed that a man had been seen putting a child into a green car in the same area on the same day of Katrice's disappearance. The information, which the force had received in 1981, led to a five-week excavation by soldiers of a site in Germany but no trace of the girl was found. The podcast reveals Mr Lee's emotions, in interviews recorded at different points over the last 44 years. He said: "I went down some very dark routes and very dark avenues. And at my lowest point, I actually thought about suicide. "My choice was to continue the fight. I made a promise and that's what brought me out of the darkness. "I made a promise to Natasha that I would continue the fight to get answers until I can no longer fight." Ms Walker said: "It can be at times very difficult to listen to your parents breaking their hearts on this podcast. "But then when you have an opportunity to raise awareness again that your sister is still missing, obviously you're going to do everything that you can." In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Katrice Lee's family and if anyone has any new information relating to the disappearance of Katrice they can contact us." The podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story is available via the BBC Sounds app. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line. Father of girl missing since 1981 to meet minister Missing girl exhibition 'brings visitors to tears' 'I will never stop hunting for my lost daughter'
BBC News
4 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'Darkest days' for father of missing Katrice Lee
The father of a two-year-old girl who vanished in 1981 has revealed how his vow to solve the mystery led him away from thoughts of trace has ever been found of Katrice Lee, who went missing on her birthday near a military base in Germany where her father Richard was an episode of the new BBC podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story, he reveals how he contemplated taking his own life, but instead promised Katrice's sister, Natasha Walker, that he would continue his fight for Walker, who lives in Hampshire, said the podcast revealed her father's "darkest days". The first episode recounts how Katrice was with her mother Sharon and aunt Wendy at a Naafi supermarket in Paderborn on 28 November 1981, the girl's second ran off down an aisle and was never seen again. Authorities in Germany were initially suspicious of her parents and also speculated that Katrice had wandered unchallenged to the River Lippe and Mr Lee, from Hartlepool, said the case should have been treated as a possible told the programme: "It was a nightmare that I didn't think would still be a nightmare 42 years later. I've never left day one in reality."In 2012, Royal Military Police apologised for mistakes in their initial years later, the force revealed that a man had been seen putting a child into a green car in the same area on the same day of Katrice's information, which the force had received in 1981, led to a five-week excavation by soldiers of a site in Germany but no trace of the girl was found. The podcast reveals Mr Lee's emotions, in interviews recorded at different points over the last 44 said: "I went down some very dark routes and very dark avenues. And at my lowest point, I actually thought about suicide. "My choice was to continue the fight. I made a promise and that's what brought me out of the darkness."I made a promise to Natasha that I would continue the fight to get answers until I can no longer fight."Ms Walker said: "It can be at times very difficult to listen to your parents breaking their hearts on this podcast. "But then when you have an opportunity to raise awareness again that your sister is still missing, obviously you're going to do everything that you can."In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: "Our thoughts and sympathies remain with Katrice Lee's family and if anyone has any new information relating to the disappearance of Katrice they can contact us." The podcast Katrice Lee: A Father's Story is available via the BBC Sounds app. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line.
The Independent
7 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Retrieved data from special forces server may hold evidence of murder
Data has been recovered and seized from the back-up drives of a special forces computer system containing allegations of murders in Afghanistan, it has been revealed. The computer system was thought to have been 'irreversibly' wiped. In a statement, the Afghanistan Inquiry said it received information about the whereabouts of the back-up drives in December 2023 and seized data with the help of the Defence Serious Crime Command from undisclosed special forces locations. The system, known to the probe only as ITS1, allegedly contained data relevant to Operation Northmoor: a £10 million investigation set up in 2014 to examine allegations of executions by special forces. The inquiry was previously told the deletion of the server was 'irreversible' and a 'direct disobeyance' to the Royal Military Police's (RMP) demands to 'preserve the data in its entirety'. RMP investigator Jim Priddin told the probe in December 2023 that special forces personnel were 'sheepish' during a meeting about the computer system in 2016. In a statement issued on Thursday, the inquiry said 'terabytes' of data from the back-up drives had been seized. It read: 'In the course of the open hearings in December 2023, the inquiry received information as to the whereabouts of back-up drives of ITS1. 'The inquiry, with the independent support of the Defence Serious Crime Command, seized drives containing terabytes of ITS1 data from (special forces) locations. 'A phased, methodical and highly sophisticated approach has been taken by the inquiry team to explore technical options and allow a forensic examination of the relevant data.' The inquiry said it would create a 'forensically secure master copy' of the data and conduct an 'analytical examination and review of material that is relevant' to the probe. The independent inquiry is examining whether UK special forces had a policy of executing males of 'fighting age' who posed no threat in Afghanistan between 2010 and 2013. The inquiry is also looking at whether there was an alleged cover-up of illegal activity and inadequate investigation by the RMP.
Sky News
16-05-2025
- Sky News
'Toxic' army unit charged with investigating sex crimes allowing abusers to 'get away with it' in own ranks, whistleblower says
More than a dozen women came forward to report a staff sergeant in the Royal Military Police (RMP) for sexual abuse, but he was allowed to resign from the army instead of face charges. That's the claim of a whistleblower who served as a sergeant in the RMP for over a decade and says she was one of the man's victims. Amy, not her real name, says a "toxic" culture in the military police means sexual predators in the army are "getting away with stuff that they shouldn't be getting away with". It's a rare insight into life inside the Royal Military Police, the corps charged with investigating crime in the army. Amy described how the man who assaulted her would go into women's rooms and sit on their beds. She says he used to force her to go out driving with him at night and talk about sex. "He preyed on the young, new females that were in the unit," she says. "One day, I was out with my friends in town and he was on patrol... There were two of us that went over to speak to him and I had quite a low-cut top on. "So he hooked his finger around my top and pulled my boob out". She recalls as she tried to stop him, "he grabbed my hand and put it on his penis". She claims there are other men in the RMP who've been accused of sexual offences, recalling hearing of five separate allegations of rape against male colleagues by female colleagues. "If all of this sexual assault and bullying and rapes are going on within the military police, how can they then go out and investigate the wider army for doing the same things?" she says. "It doesn't work." 'He got away with it' Looking back on her career in the army is difficult for Amy. After leaving, she tried to settle back into life as a civilian with a new job and a young family to look after, but says she worried about bumping into former colleagues in the street. "It's taken me a long time to heal," she says. "I was very bitter towards my military career when I left, but I've had to sort of learn, build myself up again and remember the good times because they were really good times as well... I think it was just so bad at points." When she joined the RMP, she believed she would be part of a unit "representing how the rest of the soldiers should be conducting themselves". The reality, she says, was that she had become part of "one of the most toxic" corps in the army. She recalls being told that the staff sergeant she had reported for sexual assault would be allowed to resign. "They basically told me he's not going to be charged, but will be leaving the military... doing him a favour," she says. "He got away with it all," she adds. "He's not going to lose his pension and whatever else he would have lost with a dishonourable discharge. "He's left without a criminal record... that's not safe for civilians as well, because it's not even on his record." 'They investigate themselves' Earlier this year, an inquest into the suicide of 19-year-old Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck found she had been failed by the army after reporting sexual assault and harassment. Since then, Sky News has reported claims of widespread abuse and growing calls for investigations into sexual offences to be removed from the RMP and instead carried out by civilian police. 5:59 The Labour chair of the influential House of Commons Defence Committee is now urging the government to act. Tan Dhesi told Sky News: "The system needs to change... incidents of sexual violence and sexual assault should be dealt with not by the Royal Military Police but by civilian police and civilian courts. "I hope that the government will be making that substantial change in the very, very near future; in fact, they should do it ASAP." Since Gunner Beck's death, a new tri-service complaints team has been announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD). The change will see bullying, harassment, discrimination related service complaints dealt with by a team outside the commands of the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force. However, Amy believes investigations need to be done "completely separately from the military". "Otherwise it doesn't work because friends will be investigating friends," she says. "I think there's such a male-dominated space in the military still. Women have no chance... and it's not fair because people are getting away with stuff that they shouldn't be getting away with and allowed to continue doing it and ruining lives." She believes the entire system lacks accountability. "They investigate themselves," she says, even down to how the RMP is regulated. "The people that run that unit are RMP. They get posted in, do a few years and then get posted back out." 'I was told off for reporting it' Katie, also not her real name, served in the army for over 20 years. She saw active service in Afghanistan and rose to the rank of Captain. It was a distinguished career that was brought to a premature end by sexual abuse and whistleblowing. Having taken the difficult decision to leave the army she now leads a secluded life and suffers poor mental health. "I still struggle," she says. "I'm still very wary of men. My relationship is strained. "Everything seems like black and white now, like I live my life in black and white rather than full colour... As a person, it has changed my life forever." To begin with, she was in the same unit that Gunner Beck would join years later. She too experienced harassment and abuse, and says her line manager "laughed" when she reported it. "I just felt like dehumanised, I felt like property, I didn't feel like a person anymore," she says. "And so I would avoid people... I would hide in the garages, behind the tanks, in between the guns, just praying that these people hadn't seen me and I might be able to escape them for that day." She moved to a different unit but says wherever she went, abuse was rife. After being groped by a higher-ranking colleague, she assumed her chain of command would escalate her report to the RMP. Instead, she says she was "put in front of the Sergeant Major and told off". "I remember at the time saying I'd like to call the civilian police, and I was told that I wasn't allowed to do that and I'd be disciplined if I tried to do that," she said. "So I was so frightened." She stayed in the army, hoping to make a difference. As an officer, she began reporting abusers on behalf of younger victims. "I kept this goal in my head of reaching a position one day where I could help other women," she said. "When I got there, I realised that it was way more toxic than I could have ever imagined. "The officer corps were actually the worst perpetrators of all because they brushed it under the carpet. There was a will and a need more to protect themselves or their friends. Or the reputation of the unit first and foremost." She believes changes made by the MoD since the death of Gunner Beck to remove the chain of command from sexual abuse investigations will make "little difference", saying they'll still be carried out by "the same people, but just under a new title". 'They should be held accountable' An MoD spokesperson told Sky News that "unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place in our Armed Forces". They added: "That is why this government is creating a new Tri-Service Complaints team to take the most serious complaints out of the chain of single service command for the first time, and has launched a new central taskforce on Violence Against Women and Girls to give this issue the attention it deserves. "We are also establishing an independent Armed Forces Commissioner with the power to visit defence sites unannounced, and to investigate and report to parliament any welfare matters affecting service life." Amy believes the RMP is not fit for purpose. "They have higher standards to uphold, yet they don't uphold them within their own regiment, within their own lives, and then they're expected to police and uphold those standards throughout the rest of the army," she says. "At the end of the day, they know the law and they should be held accountable for what they do."
BreakingNews.ie
30-04-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Former soldier accused of killing Irish girlfriend on holiday claims he would 'never hurt a woman'
A former soldier accused of strangling his Irish mum-of-one girlfriend to death at their holiday hotel has insisted he would never hurt a woman and claimed she had taken her own life. Keith Byrne acted out the dramatic moment he claimed he found Kirsty Ward dead with their hair straightener power cord tied around her neck and attached to the inside of their room door knob on the penultimate day of his murder trial. Advertisement The 34-year-old urged the nine-strong jury to use 'logic and common sense' in an unconventional address to the trial court in the Spanish city of Tarragona on the east coast. Public prosecutors are seeking a 21-year prison sentence for Dubliner Byrne for killing Kirsty at the four-star Magnolia Hotel in the popular Costa Daurada resort of Salou. A private prosecutor acting for Kirsty's family wants him jailed for 30 years if convicted of the 36-year-old's murder on July 2nd, 2023. Kirsty's mum, Jackie Ward, described Byrne as someone she 'didn't like' and 'didn't trust' on day one of the trial last Wednesday and said she had found out after her daughter's death that she had planned to leave him during their 'make or break' holiday. Advertisement Prosecutors are claiming the Irish man, who had been living in Duleek, Co Meath, deliberately killed his alleged victim because he couldn't accept the end of their eight-month relationship. Byrne, identified around the time of his arrest as a fugitive from the Royal Military Police in England for going AWOL in 2017, delivered an extraordinary character assassination of his late partner in court yesterday before insisting: 'It wasn't a murder, it was suicide.' He spoke in heavily-accented Spanish, which he is believed to have learnt during his nearly two years on remand in jail, despite sitting beside a translator he used to help him re-enact his discovery of Kirsty on the floor of their hotel room after her alleged 'suicide". Byrne described himself as a 'respectful and intelligent' father of three who would never commit an act of domestic violence and had never been accused of hurting a woman in Ireland. Advertisement He initially described Kirsty as 'affectionate, friendly, funny and amusing' when they started their relationship. But he went on to paint her as an unstable woman who could be 'four people in one day', especially after binging on alcohol and banned substance drugs, which he claimed made her psychotic and turned their romance 'toxic.' Describing their trip to Salou as a rollercoaster of emotions, which he claimed began with an argument sparked by her insistence on smuggling cocaine onto their flight to Spain from Dublin, he said in an impassioned plea to the jury: 'Please use logic and common sense. 'For the last two years, people have called me a killer, and I've been locked up in a sh***y prison for a crime I didn't commit. Advertisement 'I'm here today as a witness and also a victim. This wasn't a murder. It was suicide. 'My last words to Kirsty before I was taken away by police after giving her a kiss were: 'I'll love you forever, with all my heart and soul. None of this is your fault. Go in peace'.' He recounted to the court in detail their last day together when he says he left her alone to binge on margarita cocktails in a bar called Bikini after a 'last straw' argument sparked by her threat to leave him in Spain and return to Ireland early. He also alleged she badgered him into taking her to a swinger's club earlier in the holiday and called him a 'son of a b***h' for failing to bring back a man or woman to their hotel, she could have fun with after a drink and drug binge. Advertisement Recalling the moment he claims he found Kirsty dead, and using his translator to represent her in a gruesome role play, he said: 'I began CPR and started shouting 'Baby, please come back' and called out for help after loosening the pressure of the cord and dragging her out of the room towards the hotel corridor. 'It felt like hours before any help arrived. 'My world fell apart that day, my partner was dead. No one has ever understood that.' Kirsty's mum, Jackie, sat feet away from Byrne. She broke down in tears and was comforted by loved ones as police photos of her body were shown to the jurors on large TV monitors in the courtroom. Public prosecutors are accusing Byrne of aggravated murder and not simple homicide under Spanish law because of his alleged execution of the crime in a way or with means that left the victim defenceless. They are demanding he pay Kirsty's teenage child, Evan, who was 14 at the time she died, €150,000 in compensation and to pay her mum €100,000. Tests have shown Kirsty had consumed alcohol, cocaine, Benzoylecgonine and Lidocaine before her death. Prosecutors said in a pre-trial indictment that these substances prevented her from defending herself in 'equal conditions' when Byrne 'strangled" her by 'taking advantage of the privacy of their hotel room and his superior physical strength.' Kirsty's mum was asked on day one of the trial whether she thought her daughter could have committed suicide, but replied angrily: 'She did everything for her son. She would never ever leave him. She would never do that to him.' The trial is due to finish later on Wednesday, following lawyers' final speeches. Jurors will start deliberating their verdict at the start of next week after the May Bank Holiday.
