Overview
- Michael Webber, 43, pleaded guilty at a Court Martial to sexually assaulting Gunner Jaysley Beck and was jailed for six months, with seven years on the sex offenders register.
- The assault followed a drinking game and was reported the next morning, yet it was not referred to civilian police, Webber issued a written apology, and he was later promoted.
- A February inquest concluded the Army failed to act on harassment and discipline, found those failings more than minimally contributed to Beck’s death, and identified an arguable breach of the State’s Article 2 duty to protect life.
- Defence Secretary John Healey and senior Army leaders voiced a renewed commitment to protect women in the forces, with Major General Jon Swift apologising for not heeding Beck’s initial report.
- The MoD points to a serious crime command, a violence-against-women-and-girls taskforce and plans to centralise serious complaints, while the family and their lawyer say these steps lack impact and urge the independent Armed Forces Commissioner to take over serious cases.