UK Army Faces Backlash Over Promised Reforms After Teenager's Suicide
The mother of 19-year-old Jaylsley Beck, who died by suicide after being sexually assaulted by a senior army colleague, has accused the British army of making "empty promises" about reforming its handling of complaints. Eight months on from her death, Leighann McCready said that the promise made at the end of her daughter's inquest to introduce lasting and effective change did not feel like justice.
Beck had joined the army aged 16 and was sexually assaulted by senior warrant officer Michael Webber during an exercise in Hampshire in July 2021. Despite reporting the assault, she was encouraged to accept a letter of apology from Webber rather than pursue formal action through the police. Her family has since accused the army of breaching its own rules by not reporting the assault to the authorities.
The prosecution of Webber, who was finally sentenced for the attack last year, did little to ease McCready's concerns about justice being served. "In lots of ways this really doesn't feel like justice," she said. The family had been relieved that the case would go to trial, but they felt that the outcome was still not satisfactory.
The army has promised to introduce a new specialist tri-service team and an independent armed forces commissioner to address complaints outside the single service chain of command. However, McCready is skeptical about these changes, saying that there have been "a lot of empty promises" made by the Ministry of Defence in the past. The family is still waiting for details on what these reforms will look like.
Until there are "proper changes," McCready plans to advise young women not to join the armed forces due to their vulnerability when they first enlist. She urged anyone going through similar experiences to speak up and seek outside help, saying that there are people who can provide support and assistance.
The mother of 19-year-old Jaylsley Beck, who died by suicide after being sexually assaulted by a senior army colleague, has accused the British army of making "empty promises" about reforming its handling of complaints. Eight months on from her death, Leighann McCready said that the promise made at the end of her daughter's inquest to introduce lasting and effective change did not feel like justice.
Beck had joined the army aged 16 and was sexually assaulted by senior warrant officer Michael Webber during an exercise in Hampshire in July 2021. Despite reporting the assault, she was encouraged to accept a letter of apology from Webber rather than pursue formal action through the police. Her family has since accused the army of breaching its own rules by not reporting the assault to the authorities.
The prosecution of Webber, who was finally sentenced for the attack last year, did little to ease McCready's concerns about justice being served. "In lots of ways this really doesn't feel like justice," she said. The family had been relieved that the case would go to trial, but they felt that the outcome was still not satisfactory.
The army has promised to introduce a new specialist tri-service team and an independent armed forces commissioner to address complaints outside the single service chain of command. However, McCready is skeptical about these changes, saying that there have been "a lot of empty promises" made by the Ministry of Defence in the past. The family is still waiting for details on what these reforms will look like.
Until there are "proper changes," McCready plans to advise young women not to join the armed forces due to their vulnerability when they first enlist. She urged anyone going through similar experiences to speak up and seek outside help, saying that there are people who can provide support and assistance.
I'm having doubts about these promises from the UK army. Lasting change is one thing, but empty promises get old. How many of these promised reforms have we seen come to fruition? The specialist tri-service team sounds like a nice idea, but what's the point if it's just going to be another layer of bureaucracy? 
We need tangible action, not just lip service from the Ministry of Defence. And what about the independent armed forces commissioner? How will that actually help victims like Jaylsley Beck and her family?
... its so frustratin seein how the uk army is still makin empty promises after all these months. leighann mccready's story is just heartbreaking - her daughter jaylsley was such a young and innocent person who got taken advantage of by someone in power. and now her family is still waitin for real change, but its like the army just keeps makin promises that dont amount to anythin 
. btw, why dont dey just put in place these reforms already? 
i mean we all knew something was fishy with the army's handling of complaints but this is just getting out of hand 
theyre making promises left and right but still havent delivered anything concrete. idk about these new specialist teams tho - sounds like just another way to paper over the problems 
instead of actually doing something about the root issues, her mom's concerns are totally valid. anyway, if you're a young woman thinking about joining the army, trust her instincts and stay far, far away 
. The fact that the army made empty promises about reforming their handling of complaints but hasn't delivered on those promises is like, totally unacceptable 
.
. I can understand why she's skeptical about the changes they're proposing... it's not just about throwing some new jobs at the problem 
. We need to see real change and support for people who are going through similar experiences, like mental health resources and safe spaces to talk about what happened 
.
. And to anyone who's going through something similar, just know that there are people who care and want to help 
#JusticeForJaylsley #SupportSurvivors #MentalHealthMatters
what really needs to change is a culture of accountability within the army. if we want to prevent more tragedies like this, we need real, lasting change