Jaysley Beck: Army’s handling of sexual assault complaint ‘played part in death’, coroner says
The Army’s failure to properly deal with a soldier’s sexual assault complaint played “more than a minimal” role in her death, a coroner has said.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found dead in her room at Larkhill Camp in Wiltshire on 15 December 2021.
An inquest today recorded a conclusion of suicide “after a prolonged period of stress after harassment by her line management and problems with a relationship”.
Gunner Beck complained to her family about thousands of unwanted messages from her line manager, Ryan Mason, in the months leading up to her death.
He also wrote a 14-page document detailing his “feelings towards Jaysley” and paid for rooms next to each other during a work trip a week before she died, the inquest heard.
Wiltshire Police told the inquest evidence did not support a harassment case against Mr Mason, who is now a driving instructor.
Gunner Beck also formally complained to the Army about the behaviour of Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber, then 39.
She said he’d pinned her down and tried to kiss her after a drinking game during a team-building event in July 2021.
Gunner Beck, who joined the Army at 16, ended up sleeping in her car as she was so scared, the hearing in Salisbury was told.
WO Webber was given a “minor sanction” and wrote an apology letter – but was later promoted to Warrant Officer 2 rank
Coroner Nicholas Rheinberg said the Army should have reported the alleged incident to police instead of treating it with a “minor administrative action”.
He said this failure was “more than a minimal contributory factor” in Gunner Beck’s death.
An Army report in October 2023 described “an intense period of unwelcome behaviour” and said it was “almost certain this was a causal factor” in her death.
Gunner Jaysley Beck
Staff Sergeant Cory Budd, who said he’d been in a relationship with Gunner Beck at the time of her death – while he was still married, found her body.
Police concluded there was no third-party involvement.
The coroner said that despite Jaysley being three times over the drink-drive limit when she died, he was satisfied she had still intended to take her own life.
Gunner Beck’s mother, Leighann McCready, attended the inquest with her partner and daughter.
Speaking outside court, she said her Jaysley was “bright”, “fantastic at her job” and exactly what the Army was looking for.
Ms McCready said no apology could bring her back and called for the Army to be stripped of the power to conduct its own investigations into harassment and bullying cases.
She said victims often feel like they can’t speak up and that “no one should have to suffer in silence”.
Jaysley Beck with her mum
‘It’s weighing me down’
Ms McCready had told the court how her daughter “did not feel safe” as the situation with her line manager intensified, with Ryan Mason sending 3,600 messages in November 2021.
In one reply, she wrote: “This whole falling in love with me… it’s becoming a bit too much, I have just come out of a relationship and I’m just not wanting to be involved in anything like this.
“It’s weighing me down a little bit, I’ll be totally honest with you.”
Jaysley Beck
The inquest also heard how Gunner Beck had been too afraid to return to her room after the alleged assault by WO Webber, locking herself in her car and making a complaint in the morning.
A colleague said she had been “frightened and in tears” and described her superior allegedly “waiting for a moment for them to be alone” before pinning her down and trying to kiss her.
Ms McCready said her daughter had been angered by the apology letter – which ended by saying his “door was open” for her.
The Army report said this was “possibly a factor that may have influenced her failure to report other events that happened subsequently”.
Its report also highlighted family issues, including bereavement, as playing a part in Gunner Beck’s death – but her family rejects this.
The Army report outlined three “contributory factors”, including:
- The “significant strain” of a sexual relationship with a married colleague in the last few weeks of her life;
- A relationship which ended in November 2021 which involved “repeated allegations of unfaithfulness on the part of the boyfriend”;
- An “unhealthy approach to alcohol, with episodes of binge drinking”.
WO Webber and Mr Mason declined to answer a number of questions at the inquest relating to their alleged behaviour towards Gunner Beck.
George Higgins, a former sergeant, also declined to answer questions about whether his relationship with Gunner Beck had begun when she was a recruit in Harrogate.
Army: ‘We should have done more’
Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of the army personnel services group, said it accepts failures were made.
“We let her down in so many ways for which we have already apologised, and if I can apologise again, for what it’s worth, I would do,” she said.
“On a personal level, listening to the doubt and the fear that she had, the good encouragement of her friends to report, but the lack of confidence that they had in reporting, and the well-meaning but erroneous actions of the chain of command, I have found personally very grieving.
“We could have, and we should have, done more.”
Anyone feeling emotionally distressed or suicidal can call Samaritans for help on 116 123 or email jo@samaritans.org in the UK. In the US, call the Samaritans branch in your area or 1 (800) 273-TALK.
UK
Facewatch: The controversial tech that retailers have deployed to tackle shoplifting and violence
The Christmas period is upon us, and goods are flying off the shelves, but for some reason, the tills are not ringing as loudly as they should be.
Across the country, the five-finger discount is being used with such frequency that retailers are taking action into their own hands.
With concerns about the police response to shoplifting, many are now resorting to controversial facial recognition technology to catch culprits before they strike.
Sainsbury’s, Asda, Budgens and Sports Direct are among the high-street businesses that have signed up to Facewatch, a cloud-based facial recognition security system that scans faces as they enter a store. Those images are then compared to a database of known offenders and, if a match is found, an alert is set off to warn the business that a shoplifter has entered the premises.
It comes as official figures show shoplifting offences rose by 13% in the year to June, reaching almost 530,000 incidents. Figures reported in August showed more than 80% result in no charge.
At the same time, retailers are reporting more than 2,000 cases of violence or abuse against their staff every day. Faced with mounting losses and safety concerns, businesses say they are being forced to take security into their own hands because stretched police forces are only able to respond to a fraction of incidents.
A Facewatch camera
At Ruxley Manor Garden Centre in south London, managing director James Evans said theft had become increasingly brazen and organised, with losses from shoplifting now accounting for around 1.5% of turnover. “That may sound small, but it represents a significant hit to the bottom line,” he said, pointing out that thousands of pounds’ worth of goods can be stolen in a single visit.
“We have had instances where the children get sent in to do it. They know that the parents will be waiting in the car park and they’ll know that there’s nothing that we can do to stop them.”
Gurpreet Narwan is seen at the garden centre while being shown how Facewatch works
Staff members here have also had their fair share of run-ins with shoplifters. In one case, employees trying to stop a suspected shoplifter were nearly struck by an accomplice in a car. “This is no longer just about stock loss,” said James, “It is about the safety of our staff.”
However, the technology is not without its critics. Civil liberties groups have warned that the expansion of this type of technology is eroding our privacy.
Silkie Carlo, director of Big Brother Watch, called it “a very dangerous kind of privatised policing industry”.
Facewatch is seen in operation as retailers look to crack down on crime.
“[It] really threatens fairness and justice for us all, because now it’s the case that just going to do your supermarket shopping, a company is quietly taking your very sensitive biometric data. That’s data that’s as sensitive as your passport, and [it’s] making a judgement about whether you’re a criminal or not.”
Silkie said the organisation was routinely receiving messages from people who said they had been mistakenly targeted. They include Rennea Nelson, who was wrongly flagged as a shoplifter at a B&M store after being mistakenly added to the facial recognition database. Nelson said she was threatened with police action and warned that her immigration status could be at risk.
Gurpreet’s profile can be seen on the Facewatch database
“He said to me, if you don’t get out, I’m going to call the police. So at that point I turned around and I was like, are you speaking to me? Then he was like yes, yes, your face set off the alarm because you’re a thief… At that point, I was around six to seven months pregnant and I was having a high-risk pregnancy. I was already going through a lot of anxiety and, so him coming over and shouting at me, it was like really triggering me.”
The retailer later acknowledged the error and apologised, describing it as a rare case of human mistake.
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A spokesperson for B&M said: ‘This was a simple case of human error, and we sincerely apologise to Ms Nelson for any upset caused. Reported incidents like this are rare. Facewatch services are designed to operate strictly in compliance with UK GDPR and to help protect store colleagues from incidents of aggressive shoplifting.”
The cloud-based technology has critics who argue that it amounts to a misuse of personal data and privacy
Nick Fisher, chief executive of Facewatch, said the backlash was disproportionate.
“Well, I think it’s designed to be quite alarmist, using language like ‘dystopian’, ‘orwellian’, ‘turning people into barcodes’,” he said.
“The inference of that is that we will identify people using biometric technology, hold and store their own, store their data. And that’s just, quite frankly, misleading. We only store and retain data of known repeat offenders, of which it’s been deemed to be proportionate and responsible to do so… I think in the world that we are currently operating in, as long as the technology is used and managed in a responsible, proportionate way, I can only see it being a force for good.”
Yet, there is obviously widespread unease, if not anger, at the proliferation of this technology. Businesses are obviously alert to it, but the bottom line is calling.
Jeffrey Epstein led two different lives – sex offender and celebrity networker – and he did that in the UK as well as the US.
The newly released Epstein documents reveal, in particular, how the paedophile financier ascended into the highest levels of British society.
This photo of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor sprawled across the lap of several women, whose identities have been protected, speaks to his close relationship with Epstein’s former girlfriend Ghislaine Maxwell, who was jailed for child sex trafficking and other offences in connection with Epstein. But the furnishings are even more revealing.
Epstein files – latest updates
Andrew Mountbatten Windsor pictured with Ghislaine Maxwell. Note: inclusion in Epstein files does not infer wrongdoing
Sky News matched the fireplace in this photo with the one in Sandringham, the estate where the royals tend to spend Christmas – (Andrew is not invited this year).
Andrew has vigorously denied any accusations against him.
Prince Charles, now King Charles III, at Sandringham with Prince Edward. Pic: PA
Also included in the latest release are Epstein’s flight records. They provide some useful corroborating evidence.
A flight log from the Epstein files
On 9 March 2001, his plane landed at “EGGW” – Luton Airport – with JE, GM and VR on board – Jeffrey Epstein, Ghislaine Maxwell and Virginia Roberts, better known by her married name of Virginia Giuffre and perhaps Epstein’s most famous accuser.
The next day is when this photo was alleged to have been taken, in London, of Giuffre and Andrew.
Prince Andrew, Virginia Roberts, aged 17, and Ghislaine Maxwell at Ghislaine Maxwell’s townhouse in London, in March 2001
Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell hunting, date unknown. Pic: US DoJ
Other photos show Maxwell on the steps of Downing Street – and power was as much a draw as celebrity.
Ghislaine Maxwell outside 10 Downing Street, date unknown. Pic: US DoJ
On 15 May 2002, the flight records show Epstein again arriving at Luton.
A flight log from the Epstein files
The next day is when he met Tony Blair, prime minister at the time. This was before Epstein’s first arrest and there is no suggestion of wrongdoing.
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The meeting was arranged by Peter Mandelson, who lost his job as ambassador to the US because of his Epstein connections, and who features prominently in the files.
Peter Mandelson and Jeffrey Epstein. Pic: US DoJ
The UK was a draw for Epstein’s wider circle too – Maxwell here is pictured touring the Churchill War Rooms with Bill Clinton and Kevin Spacey. Neither are accused of wrongdoing or knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.
(L-R) Ghislaine Maxwell, Kevin Spacey and Bill Clinton, with three other men. Pic: US DoJ
And the other grim life that Epstein led, of sex trafficking, also had British links.
A page from the Epstein files
Another document released in the files, from 2019, shows witness testimony from Maxwell’s trial. In it, a victim is mentioned who is “17 years old” and who grew up “in England”. She would later be taken to Epstein’s private Caribbean island.
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