Armed forces commissioner to examine ten military training sites

The review will cover Army, Royal Navy and RAF establishments, including Army Foundation College Harrogate, the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and Britannia Royal Naval College Dartmouth. Miller-Perkins plans to visit all ten sites in November, speaking to recruits, staff and families. She aims to produce early findings in the new year and says her recommendations will be made public. The ten sites define the review’s reach; they are not ten established cases of abuse. [1]

Four young women told the BBC in August that they had experienced sexual assault or harassment at Harrogate. One said several fellow junior soldiers had raped her. One of the women questioned whether people would speak candidly to a commissioner with a military background. Miller-Perkins, a former air commodore, said trust had to be earned. She said she had been planning the review since the spring and that the BBC’s reporting reinforced concerns she already held. [1]

An earlier Army inquiry found weaknesses in local policies and oversight of complaints at soldier-training establishments. Its reviewing authority later reported that 12 of its 13 recommendations had been actioned and closed; it said at the time that the remaining recommendation would be completed by autumn 2025. Those historical findings do not show whether the same problems persist across the sites now under review. [2]