A whistleblower who raised the alarm 18 months ago about alleged sexual harassment and abuse onboard the UK’s nuclear-armed submarines says she feels let down and left in limbo by the Royal Navy.
Admiral Sir Ben Key, the head of the navy, ordered an internal inquiry into the claims made in a newspaper interview in October 2022 by Sophie Brook, a former naval officer, and other women about their treatment while serving in the elite Submarine Service.
Summing up her core allegation, Ms Brook, 32, told Sky News: “There is sexual assault, sexual harassment, and misogyny is widespread within the Submarine Service.”
After first going public, she said she had “multiple people contacting me saying the same thing happened to me… that ranged from minor sexual assault all the way up to rape”.
Ms Brook, who could have become the first female captain of a submarine but has since resigned from the navy, gave evidence to the investigation as well as to the military police.
She said she was told last year by the navy that the outcome of the inquiry would be made public very soon, but she is still waiting for any kind of update.
“I believe it was back in 2023 – sometime in the summer when they promised that the report was imminent – was the last time I heard from the navy,” she said, sitting with her father, David, also a former naval officer, who has been a huge support to her.
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Asked how this made her feel, she said: “It’s rude… it’s like having a second injury.”
Sky News revealed last year how victims of alleged sexual harassment and bullying in the Red Arrows felt they had suffered a second wound from the Royal Air Force after a separate – similarly internal – inquiry dragged on for almost two years, largely in secret.
Sarah Atherton, a Conservative MP, army veteran and member of parliament’s defence select committee, has worked tirelessly to raise awareness about the treatment of women in the armed forces.
She said she was appalled at the length of time it was taking for the Royal Navy to investigate the submarine allegations without providing any kind of update to the victims.
Ms Atherton also called into question the fairness of the entire system of military justice, which enables the individual services to launch so-called non-statutory inquiries into serious allegations that their own officers are then tasked with investigating.
‘Justice delayed is justice denied’
“For victims, witnesses and alleged perpetrators to have to wait 18 months for an outcome – and by all accounts not even being kept up to date – is completely unacceptable,” Ms Atherton said in an interview.
“Justice delayed is justice denied. And the use of non-statutory investigations by the Ministry of Defence is just another way that they’re just marking their own homework.”
A spokesperson for the Royal Navy said: “The First Sea Lord is clear that any behaviour which falls short of the highest standards will not be tolerated and anyone found culpable will be held accountable.
“Work around an investigation into allegations of inappropriate behaviour in the Submarine Service is ongoing and given the complex nature of the allegations, it is important to take time to do this thoroughly.”
‘Hostility and harassment from the start’
Ms Brook chose to join the Submarine Service after a ban on female submariners was lifted in 2011. However, she alleged that she suffered hostility and harassment from the start.
The situation was so grave she said it badly impacted her mental health, prompting her to start self-harming even while serving for months at a time onboard the nuclear-armed submarines that provide the UK’s nuclear deterrence – the cornerstone of UK security.
She said she initially raised concerns internally about her alleged mistreatment.
But she claimed that the Royal Navy turned on her, accusing her of fraud and of revealing information about the movement of a submarine.
On the fraud charge, Ms Brook said she decided to plead guilty at court-martial because she had not been allowed more time to produce bank records that she claimed showed she had made car journeys that she had claimed petrol money for.
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‘I didn’t gain a penny’
Showing the Tesco bank records to Sky News, Ms Brook said: “I did not gain a single penny.
“I made many, many journeys home, probably over 20 journeys home that year to see my family. However, they were not always on the exact day that I had put the claim in for, sometimes they were a week later, sometimes they were a week earlier, and sometimes they were on the right day and, you know, the admin was correct.
“But, the navy, I perhaps provided them with an open goal. I was someone that was complaining and making problems, and I absolutely made an admin error and where I believe anyone else and any other male certainly would have been told this is incorrect admin, do it properly next time, I was taken to court martial for it.”
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Ms Brook said evidence of her fragile mental health had also not been considered by the court.
She read a letter from a senior doctor detailing her mental state at the time.
It said: “Miss Brook’s mental health was discussed with a senior psychiatrist. At this time, her mental health would undoubtedly have affected her judgement. And as such, I do not feel she can be held accountable for her actions.”
Asked about the litigation, the Royal Navy spokesperson said: “All court martial trials are independent and presided over by a judge advocate, who is appointed in the same way as judges in other courts and ensures that matters are handled fairly and in compliance with the law.”
