Bullying allegations spark army investigation
Amateur video footage showing the apparent systematic bullying of new soldiers has led to a new internal investigation by the army.
A soldier in the School of Infantry in Catterick, Lee McDonald, filmed recruits in hoods with faces pressed against a wall. A soldier is shown pushing his boot down on the neck of a recruit.
The video was made in May last year and was made public in a broadcast by the BBC.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) then confirmed that the allegations posed by the footage were being investigated by Royal Military police.
“The MoD takes allegations extremely seriously and wants to get to the truth,” the spokesman said.
In December 2004 the Commons defence select committee heard that there had been 19 deaths recorded at the Catterick training base in the last six years.
