their genitals, an investigation has found.
Women were hounded for sex, plied with alcohol and subjected to “predatory” behaviour by male colleagues, a non-statutory inquiry by the RAF concluded.
Two pilots, Damon Green and Will Cambridge, were sacked as a result of the two-year inquiry and a further nine members of the aerobatics display team were handed lesser sanctions. Another senior aircraftman was found guilty of battery for smacking the bottom of a 19-year old and ordered to pay a £818.70 fine.
The Red Arrows display team is composed of nine pilots, Red One to Red Nine, and is known as the “Diamond” because of the formation it often flies in. There is also a supervisor, Red Ten, a commanding officer and a much larger ground crew. In total there are about 140 staff, of whom only about 10 per cent are usually women. There has only been one female Red Arrows pilot, Kirsty Murphy, who quit the team after three years in 2012 with stress-related issues after a number of fatal accidents.
The behaviour by male members of the Red Arrows towards their female colleagues created an “intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment” over a number of years, the investigation into the culture of the Red Arrows concluded. The inquiry was launched after three female whistleblowers came forward in 2021.
The 71-page report by the RAF did not name any of the alleged perpetrators of the misogynistic behaviour and sections regarding specific instances of sexual harassment were heavily redacted. The RAF said the decision to redact such details was based on legal advice.
“The high profile of the team, their regular exposure to VIPs, celebrities and an admiring public, coupled with wide media engagement, promotes the view amongst some personnel that they are ‘special’ and that normal behaviours and rules do not apply to them,” the second report said. Air Chief Marshal Sir Richard Knighton, the chief of the air staff, apologised to the victims and said he had been left “appalled” by the report. He denied the inquiry amounted to a cover-up. The Times understands there are three people still on the team who served when unacceptable behaviours were “widespread and normalised”.
Not the conduct expected of an officer and a gentleman … 
Who’d have thought … 