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A former minister suggested that the most senior chiefs in the British military should resign over a “national security” incident that occurred under the Conservative government, it has been reported.
General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, who was vice-chief of the defence staff at the time, was reportedly asked by a Tory minister whether or not he or Admiral Sir Tony Radakin, the head of the armed forces, would take the fall for the incident, which has gone unreported until now.
Gen Jenkins, who has been considered a frontrunner for the post of next chief of the defence staff, responded that he would “certainly not” step down, according to The Times.
He was also the professional head of the Royal Marines at the time of the alleged conversation. The major incident, which concerned matters of national security, allegedly involved Royal Marines commandos. However, it is understood Gen Jenkins was not in charge of those believed to be responsible.
According to The Times, the conversation between the former minister and Gen Jenkins was about “falling on his sword and taking responsibility for the errors of junior ranks”.
Ministers are currently looking for a new chief of defence staff, as Admiral Radakin is due to leave in the autumn.
Separately, Gen Jenkins has faced questions over what he knew about alleged war crimes committed by the UK special forces in Afghanistan, amid an ongoing inquiry into the activities of the SAS.
BBC’s Panorama reported last year that Gen Jenkins, who is a four-star general, placed testimony concerning the alleged crimes in a safe and apparently failed to pass on the information.
Last week testimony released by the Afghan inquiry revealed that a special forces witness believed that soldiers had a “golden pass allowing them to get away with murder”.
Statements from one individual, known as N2107, who had access to operational reports about the SAS’s activity in Afghanistan in 2011, showed that he began to doubt official accounts of how Afghans had died.
The witness told the inquiry he thought that UK special forces in Afghanistan seemed “beyond reproach”.
Then-prime minister Rishi Sunak had appointed Gen Jenkins to the post of national security adviser, the most senior security position in the government, but this appointment was overturned by Sir Keir Starmer in August last year.
Jonathan Powell, Tony Blair’s former chief of staff, was put in the position instead, with Gen Jenkins returning to the Ministry of Defence.
He is now reportedly working on “big multinational projects” without an official title.
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