Jaysley Beck assault sentencing a 'wake-up call' for the army, says lawyer

The six-month jail term for former warrant officer Michael Webber's sexual assault on teenage gunner Jaysley Beck, which contributed to the teenage soldier's suicide, is a stark "wake-up call" for the Ministry of Defence, a leading military lawyer has said. Hannah Swarbrick, a partner at Bolt Burdon Kemp specialising in Armed Forces cases, described the sentence imposed on Friday at Bulford Military Court as woefully mismatched to the "devastating consequences" endured by victims, urging immediate overhauls to a complaints process she deems "not fit for purpose."

Webber, then 39 and a battery sergeant major, assaulted the 19-year-old during an adventure training event in Hampshire in July 2021, pinning her down and attempting to kiss her, an incident that left Ms Beck "traumatised and betrayed," as her family stated in court. Ms Swarbrick, whose firm has backed scores of service personnel in abuse claims, hopes the outcome might "serve as a deterrent to others" but warns it exposes systemic failures that endanger lives.

She said: "Service personnel are being consistently failed by a system that is not fit for purpose. Action is needed to ensure that what happened to Jaysley can never happen again, and that those who speak up and raise concerns are believed and supported from the outset."

Ms Beck, a confident and vivacious recruit from Cumbria who joined the Army at 16, reported the attack promptly, only for it to be dismissed by superiors-including Webber's colleagues-who allegedly pressured her to retract amid subsequent harassment, factors a February inquest ruled contributed substantially to her suicide in Larkhill barracks that December.

The lawyer's critique resonates amid broader scrutiny of military justice, where data from the Centre for Military Justice (CMJ) reveals just 10% of sexual assault reports advance to charges, with victims twice as likely to suffer retaliation as civilians.

This mirrors notorious cases like the Deepcut barracks deaths in the early 2000s and the 2018 Alyssa Leader scandal, where a soldier's superior's assault went unpunished for years due to buried evidence.

Ms Swarbrick spotlighted the vulnerability of young enlistees: "We have seen so many cases where young men and women are subjected to horrific harassment and assaults with devastating consequences. The military can't keep failing its own personnel in this way, and I hope that we now see fundamental changes to the service justice system and complaints process."

To that end, she advocated for enshrined rights, including automatic access to counsel: "Individuals must be informed of their legal rights and given the option to seek legal advice."

Dismissing the military's self-policing, Ms Swarbrick aligned with campaigners' pleas for external scrutiny: "The military should not be allowed to dictate who can and can't seek justice, and I would echo calls for serious incidents of harassment and assault to be independently investigated in the future."

Her words follow the MoD's statements yesterday, with Minister for Veterans and People Louise Sandher-Jones voicing profound sorrow for the Army's failings and pledging reforms to honour Ms Beck's legacy, including legislation for an independent armed forces commissioner.

Ms Sandher-Jones said: "The death of Jaysley-Louise Beck was a tragedy and her loss continues to be felt across the Army and wider Defence community. My thoughts are with her loved ones and we remain profoundly sorry for the failure to protect her." She added: "We are honouring Jaysley's legacy by bringing about crucial reform, to provide a place where people are proud to work and have faith in the service justice system."

Major General Jon Swift, Assistant Chief of the General Staff, echoed this regret, stating: "We are sorry we didn't listen to Jaysley when she first reported her assault," while outlining ongoing cultural reforms under the 'Raising our Standards' programme to build trust in complaint handling.

However, groups such as the CMJ label these "band-aid solutions," insisting statutory independence is essential, especially with over 1,000 annual sexual offence reports yielding conviction rates under 5%.

Webber's September guilty plea averted a full trial but fuelled backlash over the lenient term, decried online as a "joke" that shields perpetrators.

Ms Beck's mother, Leighann McCready, spoke briefly outside court, affirming her daughter "did everything right but was failed by the system," while vowing to advocate for change.

Express.co.uk has contacted the MoD for additional comment.

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