The famous Red Arrows display team has been put in “special measures” after a report found that women were seen as “property” and predatory behaviour was “widespread and normalised”.
A recent investigation found that there was a “toxic culture” in the team and women were sexually harassed and bullied.
Defence minister Andrew Murrison told a Commons Defence Select Committee that no element of Britain’s military could expect favourable treatment over “unacceptable behaviours”.
He added that the leadership had now changed and that the team was being closely monitored.
The Chief of Air Staff, Sir Richard Knighton, previously said the findings of the report appalled him.
The investigation found that the offending behaviour included sexual messages, invitations to take part in sexual activity and even unwanted physical contact. It also found that women were seen as “property”.
To make matters worse this obscene behaviour was accompanied by a “bystander culture” that meant nobody stood up to those doing wrong.
The investigation into the team was launched in 2021, when three women went to the then-head of the Royal Air Force about complaints that they had lodged that were yet to be handled by those in charge.
Investigators covered a period dating back to 2017.
According to the BBC, the RAF said that the “high profile of the team, their regular exposure to VIPs, celebrities and an admiring public… promotes the view among some personnel that they are special and that normal rules and behaviours do not apply to them”.
Air Chief Marshal Knighton gave “unreserved apologies” to those that had suffered inappropriate behaviour by Red Arrows team members.
He added that the episode had tarnished the reputation of the Red Arrows, although he said that unacceptable behaviour was perpetuated by a “minority”.
The Air Chief Marshal also said that few of the leaders, air and ground crews from that period were still in post.
Despite the damning findings of the report, he said that there were no plans to disband the iconic flying squadron.
The famous aerobatic team are a regular fixture of royal ceremonies and perform their routines in distinctive “Hawk fast-jets”.
