White men – derided as “useless white male pilots” – who failed in a bid to join the Royal Air Force are furious no one has been sanctioned over a botched diversity drive that broke equality legislation, and say they want their rejected applications reviewed.
Defence sources similarly expressed dismay at the lack of accountability among RAF top brass, comparing it unfavourably with how the Army deals with soldiers who get drunk.
It can be revealed that members of a British battle group on a six-month deployment to Estonia this year have been fined a total of nearly £10,000 for alcohol-related misdemeanours – such as urinating in public, breaching a two-pint drinking limit and breaking curfew.
The urination offence, which occurred on 24 May, cost one soldier £635.56 – while another was charged £1,117.92 for drinking too much and staying out late on 31 May, according to a leaked document seen by Sky News.
By contrast, an inquiry in June found the air force had unlawfully discriminated against white male candidates in the two years to March 2021 in an effort to boost the number of female and ethnic minority recruits.
The service apologised, blamed incorrect legal advice and said everyone had been acting with the best intent. No disciplinary action was recommended.
Sky News has now tracked what happened to those at the top of the chain of command when the unlawful recruitment activity occurred:
• Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, the then chief of the air staff, who made improving diversity a top priority, retired at the end of his tenure in June with a Red Arrows flypast
• Air Vice-Marshal Maria Byford, the top personnel office, is set to retire. The RAF has declined to clarify when. Her term as chief of staff personnel ends this month but she is entitled to her salary of up to £179,000 until her actual retirement from the service
• Air Commodore Jo Lincoln, another senior personnel officer, is moving to a new post
• Group Captain William Dole, the then head of recruitment, is being promoted
A white man, who was in the recruitment process at the time – trying and failing to become a pilot – said he was outraged that no one had taken responsibility for the wrongdoing.
“I think it’s awful, to be honest,” he said in an interview, asking to remain anonymous.
“So many lives would have been affected by it – some maybe even ruined because it [a career in the RAF] is something people dream about their whole lives.
“For there to be no action, nothing really done about it, just an apology, it feels very cheap.”
A source, with close links to the RAF, called the situation farcical.
“Self-preservation over leading by example seems to be their [the air force’s] mantra,” the source said. “No wonder retention is s***.”
Unease widespread among recruiters
Sky News has also spoken to a source who worked in recruitment during the relevant period.
They accused the RAF of hiding behind the excuse of incorrect legal advice, saying the feeling of unease inside the recruitment force over what they were being asked to do had been widespread – but was ignored in the push to meet diversity targets.
The source claimed that multiple people on multiple occasions had raised concerns with Air Vice-Marshal Byford, Air Commodore Lincoln and Group Captain Dole about the legality of favouring certain recruits over white men.
“It was literally people just constantly saying: this is wrong. I don’t feel comfortable doing this because this to me feels like positive discrimination,” the source said, speaking anonymously because they were not authorised to talk to the media.
Positive discrimination – the promotion of someone solely based on a specific, protected characteristic – is unlawful under equality legislation. This differs from positive action, which allows an employer to take certain steps to improve workplace diversity.
The source said: “It got to the point where they [the RAF senior leadership] ended up putting out this … newsletter, for want of a better word, saying: this is what positive action is. This is what positive discrimination is and we are using positive action to increase diversity.
“People just looked at it and went: yeah but it’s not right. No matter how much you try and justify it, it’s not right.”
The RAF controversy erupted a year ago when Sky News revealed that the subsequent head of recruitment had quit in protest at what she deemed to be an “unlawful” order to pull forward female and ethnic minority candidates onto training courses ahead of white men.
Group Captain Lizzy Nicholl’s resignation triggered the inquiry, which ultimately confirmed she had been right in her concerns.
It also found that a previous order to load courses with women and ethnic minorities – implemented during Group Captain Dole’s tenure – had breached equality legislation.
The inquiry identified 161 cases of unlawful positive discrimination, involving candidates seeking to become join the enlisted ranks rather than become pilots or other officers.
However, extensive reporting by Sky News has revealed evidence of wider pressure to favour women and ethnic minorities over white men to meet “impossible” diversity targets.
This included a leaked email sent by a recruitment officer in January 2021 that appeared to deride white men seeking to join the RAF as “useless white male pilots”.
‘This felt wrong from the get-go’
Under Air Chief Marshal Wigston, “levels of ambition” were set to more than double female and ethnic minority recruits to 40% and 20% respectively by 2030.
Sky News has spoken to two white men and the mother of a third who have been left wondering whether their failure to pass pilot selection was influenced by race and gender rather than not being good enough. All three said they had performed well in selection tests.
Becoming a pilot is hugely competitive, with many more applicants than training slots, meaning a high rejection rate is to be expected – and the RAF says it only selects the best.
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However, one of the rejected male candidates said he has lodged a request for his application to be reviewed by an officer in the recruitment force in the wake of the scandal.
The second man said he plans to do the same.
A defence source said they were aware of others who have also appealed, saying that the squadron leader tasked with dealing with the issue is “fielding a lot of complaints”.
The mother said her son had been left so distraught by the rejection that he wanted nothing further to do with the RAF so would not be seeking a review of his case.
“We don’t want our sons to be rejected but they do get rejected sometimes and you just take it on the chin,” she said in an interview at her home.
“But this felt wrong from the get-go.”
Recruiting practices ‘rigorously scrutinised’
James Heappey, the Armed Forces minister, told Sky News last summer that if positive discrimination was found to have taken place within RAF recruitment, those responsible “will be held vigorously to account”.
As things stand, the only person to have resigned from her career is Group Captain Nicholl, who blew the whistle on the unlawful activity and refused to be a part of it.
An RAF spokesperson said: “The Non-Statutory Inquiry into RAF Recruiting and Selection has now been published – the RAF has accepted the recommendations in full and these are being implemented.
“The RAF has rigorously scrutinised its recruiting practices and will continually monitor these processes, to ensure there is no repeat of the mistakes that were made in the past.”
Read more:
RAF personnel chief ‘unashamed’ of ‘pausing job offers for white men’
RAF boss ready to test ‘the limit of the law’ to improve diversity
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Asked about fears of discrimination expressed by the rejected pilot candidates, the spokesperson said: “The RAF Officer and Aircrew recruitment process is not the same as the Enlisted Aviator (Other Ranks) recruiting system.
“Any offer of employment is based solely on merit. Candidates are assessed across a number of areas by different specialists.
“With significantly more pilot applicants than there are training places available, selection is extremely competitive, which unfortunately means some very capable candidates will not be successful”.
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As for whether Air Vice-Marshal Byford will continue to receive her salary after she steps down as the top personnel officer, the spokesperson said: “The RAF does not comment on individual circumstances, but the salary of all RAF personnel leaving the service ceases on the day following the date of retirement or discharge of that individual.”
Her retirement date has yet to be announced.
As a two-star officer who joined the air force as a dentist, Air Vice Marshal Byford’s salary could be about £179,000, according to the latest official data on RAF dental officer pay.
Otherwise, the annual salary for a non-dental or medical RAF two-star officer is up to about £145,000.
