The mother of a teenage soldier hounded to her death by her superiors has accused the Army of ‘covering up’ abuse before her suicide.
Royal Artillery Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, was found hanging in her room at Larkhill Camp near Salisbury in Wiltshire on December 15, 2021.
Leighann McCready, the mother of Jaysley, has urged for a police inquiry following findings by a coroner that revealed Jaysley was sexually assaulted with involvement from two senior soldiers in her demise.
Jaysley had lodged a formal complaint against Battery Sergeant Major (BSM) Michael Webber, alleging that he had restrained her while trying to kiss her during an outdoor training session in July 2021.
The distraught mother revealed how Jaysley continued to be respectful and told Webber to ‘get off me sir’ as he sexually assaulted her.
In addition, Jaysley had expressed concerns to her family about the controlling and unstable behavior of her superior, Ryan Mason, who was a Bombardier at that time. Mason had bombarded her with 4,600 WhatsApp messages in the two months leading up to the incident, as disclosed during the inquest.
Ms McCready called for criminal charges against the two soldiers who were identified as contributing to her death.
The mother told MailOnline: ‘I’m disgusted that neither Webber or Mason have been prosecuted. The police now need to look into this matter and investigate the case because the coroner has found that they both played a part in what happened to Jaysley.
‘When it comes to Webber, what he did is not even on his record and he even got promoted.’
Gunner Jaysley-Louise Beck joined the army at 16, serving with the Royal Artillery. But she was found dead in her room on December 15, 2021, aged just 19
Gnr Beck was just 16 when she joined the army. She died three years later
The mother also accused the army of a ‘cover up’ in how it handled the complaint of sexual abuse Jaysley made against Battery Sergeant Major Michael Webber.
Ms McCready said: ‘I believe it was a cover up. It was made clear at this inquest that the army knew what had taken place but did not take Jaysley’s complaint seriously and even tried to get her to change her story.
‘I’m disgusted that the army has failed my daughter.’
She added: ‘She still had the respect to call him sir. She was a good soldier who respected the senior ranks. She remained respectful even though this was happening to her.’
Regarding the harassment Jaysely faced from Mason, Ms McCready said: ‘It was a good friendship at the start, a professional friendship. But as time went on he crossed the line.
‘Jaysley told us that he had mental health problems. I was very concerned and advised her to report the harassment she was getting from him but she was such a kind and caring person, she didn’t want to cause him any upset.’
She described her daughter as ‘beautiful’, ‘kind’ and full of life, always putting others before herself.
She added: ‘There’s not a single day when we don’t speak her name or speak about her. She’s in every thought we have, every dream we have. What keeps us going is in her honour and memory to help other families and make changes in the army.
‘To encourage other females and males who are victims of sexual abuse and harassment to speak up.’
Gnr Beck faced harassment from senior colleagues while in the Army
Before her death, the young soldier had broken down and confided with friends about how some senior colleagues had tormented her, with one Sergeant she had been dating having repeatedly cheated on her during their relationship.
A former comrade of the teen soldier, Tamzin Hort, today described being a woman in the Army as like being ‘a piece of meat in a tank of sharks’.
Ms Hort, who has since left the force, told ITV that ‘the men are all misogynists’ and females are targeted in plain sight.
‘They see girls either as you sleep with everyone or you’re a lesbian, or if you’re in between you’re a challenge – they’ll terrorise you until you can get somewhere,’ she said.
‘You’d get comments like, “oh you’re good looking” and “come to my room, come to my room”.’
She said she was called a ‘slag’ when she said no and told of how women are sexually assaulted and ‘nothing is done about it’.
Ms Hort added: ‘I’ve been in situations where I’ve been downstairs with everyone while they’re all socialising and someone’s just happily just smacked my bum.’
Today coroner Nicholas Rheinberg condemned the Army for failings in its handling of a complaint raised by tragic Gnr Beck over the incident, which was dealt with in-house instead of being reported to police as a ‘sexual assault’.
He described the disciplinary action taken by the Army as ‘trivial’ and said the ‘system for making complaints’ within the service is ‘insufficiently robust’.
He today told Salisbury Coroner’s Court, Wilts, that there were ‘two influences of equal significance’ which ‘bore on Jaysley’s decision’ to end her life.
The coroner said that one of these was the ‘stress caused by the unwanted attention from the Bombardier’ and also the breakdown in her relationship with her ex-partner, George Higgins, who had cheated on her.
The other was the Army’s reaction to her complaints.
In an emotional statement outside of court Gnr Beck’s mother Leighann McCready the coroner was ‘extremely critical’ of the Army’s ‘failings’ in dealing with her daughter’s complaints
He told the inquest: ‘I find that the failure of the Army to deal with her complaints arising from the actions of the BSM was a failure which more than minimally contributed to her death.
‘I find that there is a reasonable cause to say that in relation to Jaysley the state breached her…right to life.
‘Jaysley was subjected to untenable harassment over a sustained period of time by the Bombardier and line manager.
‘This had a detrimental effect on her wellbeing [in causing] stress, anxiety, sleeplessness, and fear for her own safety.
‘The behaviour and the result of harm to Jaysley was recognised by a number of fellow soldiers of a senior rank to her.
‘The failure to report was a systemic failure… The system for making complaints was insufficiently robust in so as to facilitate engagement.
‘There was failure on the state to deal with the complaint by Jaysley.’
The coroner added that despite toxicology tests showing she was three times over legal drink drive limit at the time of her death, he believed Gnr Beck had intended to take her own life.
‘My conclusion is she died by suicide. I am satisfied Jaysley undertook the physical actions that resulted in her death by hanging, the inevitable consequences must have been known to Jaysley despite the level of alcohol she had consumed,’ he said. ‘I am satisfied she intended to die.’
Brigadier Melissa Emmett, the head of the Army Personnel Services Group, apologised for the tragedy.
Speaking to reporter, Brigadier Emmett said: ‘We should have done so much more to support and protect her.’
But Gnr Beck’s mother Leighann McCready lashed out at the military over its handling of her daughter’s complaints, adding: ‘The Army has admitted it let Jaysley down and has apologised for its failings. But no apology will ever bring her back.’
Addressing the Prime Minister, she added: ‘This is a message to Sir Keir Starmer and our government: things need to change. The Army cannot be allowed to investigate itself anymore – when it comes to cases of sexual harassment, assault, bullying, and abuse.
The Army has apologised for Gnr Beck’s death after it ‘let her down’. Gnr Beck is pictured
‘Too often, servicewomen and men don’t feel able to speak up out of fear of being victimised and even when they do, the Army is left to investigate itself. This cannot continue.
‘There needs to be an independent body responsible for investigating these most serious cases which is completely separate from the Army. Only then can we ensure true accountability, real justice, and genuine change.
‘Jaysley should still be here. We won’t stop fighting until meaningful action is taken.’
The mother’s comments come after her daughter’s tragic tale led to more than 1,000 other female personnel sharing their own harrowing stories of rape, abuse and harassment allegedly suffered during their time in the military.
It prompted the head of the Army, General Sir Roly Walker, to write to senior officers condemning ‘shameful behaviour’, saying he was ‘disgusted’ by new allegations of sexual abuse, which does not match ‘our values and standards’.
The inquest previously heard how Battery Sergeant Major (BSM) Michael Webber, 43, allegedly grabbed her leg and tried to kiss her during an incident in July 2021.
Gnr Beck made a complaint about the senior NCO, following a stay at Thorney Island, near Emsworth in Hampshire for an adventure training exercise, the inquest heard.
The inquest heard the then Warrant Officer 2 (WO2) Webber had told her he had been ‘waiting for a moment for them to be alone’ and engaged her in a drinking game called Last Man Standing, before grabbing her leg and trying to kiss her.
The coroner was told that Gnr Beck pushed away the married soldier, then aged 39, and left the room before spending the night in her car and making a complaint to her superiors in the morning.
The BSM later received a slap on the wrist after admitting attempting to kiss her, before being promoted to Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) – the highest non-commissioned rank in the Army – despite the ‘minor administrative action’ against him.
A beaming Gnr Beck is seen passing out after completing her military training
Mr Rheinberg said Gnr Beck had been ‘sufficiently terrified to flee the scene’ after the incident where she went to ‘hide in the toilets, take refuge in the car and remain on the phone’ to a friend.
He added: ‘I find on the balance of probabilities that the complaint should not have been dealt with by minor administrative action, by following this route it breached Army policy as it was a sexual assault carried out on a 19-year-old Gunner by a middle-aged man of senior rank and was recorded merely as inappropriate behaviour unbecoming of a Warrant Officer.’
The inquest previously heard from Brigadier Melissa Emmett, head of the Army personnel services group, who said the force formally accepted failures were made.
Brigadier Emmett said on Monday: ‘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.’
Gnr Beck had also been subjected to an ‘intense period of unwelcome behaviour’ from Bombardier Ryan Mason, her line manager at the time, whose harassment left her feeling ‘trapped’.
Bdr Mason, 40, sent thousands of WhatsApp messages to her in the months before her death and had reportedly written a 15-page short story about ‘his feelings’ towards the teenage soldier.
Assistant coroner Mr Rheinberg ruled Bdr Mason’s action as ‘intolerable harassment’ which took place ‘over a prolonged period of time’ and caused Jaysley ‘sleeplessness and stress.’
He added: ‘His messages breached the army code of conduct in declarations of unrequited love Jaysley did not share.’
Gnr Beck encountered Bdr Mason after joining 47 Regiment Royal Artillery and volunteering to be part of the Corps Engagement Team (CET) in February 2021
However, between October and December 2021, Bdr Mason sent the teenage soldier more than 4,600 messages confessing his feelings for her.
The inquest has uncovered Gnr Beck felt ‘weighed down’ by his barrage of messages and constant declarations of love, which had ‘crossed the line’ of both professionalism and friendship.
Bombardier Ryan Mason, 40, sent Gnr Beck 3,600 texts in a month, with the inquest hearing he had also written a 15-page ‘love story about his feelings’ towards the teen soldier
In a WhatsApp message to Bdr Mason, she said: ‘I honestly feel trapped in this whole situation, I have tried to act as a normal as possible because we are working together but nothing is normal about this situation.
‘I have tried to be there for you as a friend but it completely crossed the line of that a long time ago.
‘I have felt so uncomfortable at this event, I have literally cried about it and been up worrying about it.
‘The truth is I am struggling to deal with all this, it’s taken a huge toll on my mental health for many reasons. I need time out.’
Speaking today, the coroner Mr Rheinberg said: ‘It’s difficult to imagine the extent of the adverse effect that this must have had on Jaysley, a very young woman with problems of her own.
‘Jaysley described the Bombardier’s conduct as creepy and ultimately as frightening.
‘Rightly or wrongly she felt he was tracking her by her phone, the Bombardier denied this and I find it unlikely.’
The coroner said he found it ‘difficult to believe that’ Mr Mason had not been manipulating Gnr Beck by demanding her support for his mental health by telling her of his thoughts of self-harm and suicide.
The Army said Mr Mason’s actions amounted to ‘unwelcome sexual attention’ and ‘harassment’, the coroner said.
Bdr Mason bombarded the teenage soldier with 4,600 text in the November before her death
Jaysley’s mother Leighann McCready previously told the inquest her daughter had been ‘upset and crying’ on December 7, days before her death, and that ‘Ryan was freaking her out’
Giving evidence, Mr Mason, who quit the Army the same month as Gnr Beck died, described her as ‘that energetic person that brought good spirits to the team’.
When asked by the coroner Mr Rheinberg if he began to have romantic feelings for the teenager and had declared his love for her, Bdr Mason, who now works as a driving instructor, declined to answer.
Mr Rheinberg had advised him that he did not have to answer questions if his answers were likely to incriminate him.
Mr Mason again declined to answer when the coroner asked him whether ‘there is a suggestion from the WhatsApp messages that you were putting pressure on Jaysley by referencing to concerns about your mental health and suicide’.
Mr Mason broke down in tears as he told the hearing that he had suffered from mental health issues since he was a child and had self-harmed in 2015.
Mr Rheinberg asked Mr Mason: ‘At this stage Jaysley was 19, do you think it appropriate for a much older man of more senior rank to off-load their troubles to a 19-year-old?’ to which Mr Mason replied: ‘I will decline to answer.’
Jaysley’s mother Ms McCready told the inquest her daughter had been ‘upset and crying’ on December 7, days before her death, and that ‘Ryan was freaking her out’
He also asked: ‘Did you attempt to manipulate Jaysley into maintaining a close relationship with her by threatening suicide or self-harm?’
Mr Mason replied: ‘I didn’t have an aim, it wasn’t to manipulate.’
He also asked Mr Mason: ‘Did you, while staying in a hotel, ask Jaysley to sleep with you?’ to which he answered: ‘No.’
The coroner asked Mr Mason about an incident on December 7 when he, Gnr Beck and a third soldier were staying at a hotel for an event.
The inquest has heard that Gnr Beck left early after calling her parents in a ‘frightened state’.
The coroner then asked: ‘Did you during the course of that stay enter Jaysley’s room and put your hand on her leg?’ to which Mr Mason replied: ‘No.’
Mr Rheinberg asked Mr Mason: ‘Did you perceive that your constant pursuing of Jaysley would cause her to suffer stress?’ to which he replied: ‘I decline to answer.’
Bombardier George Young previously told the hearing he received a phone call from Gnr Beck, who was ‘trembling, crying and in shock’.
Mr Mason is seen arriving at the coroner’s court wearing a facemask and hat
‘She said that it had gone too far, that she could no longer deal with being around Ryan,’ he said.
‘The intensity of the behaviour had really ramped up in terms of what was being said. I think he’d tried knocking on her hotel room door as well.’
Mr Mason told the inquest that he went back to his family home in West Yorkshire on December 8 before he then handed in his notice to quit the Army.
Earlier, the inquest heard how Gnr Beck’s father, Antony Beck, had urged her to ‘stay well away’ from ‘very controlling’ Bdr Mason after remarking that ‘something is not right with him’.
Staff Sergeant Cory Budd – Gnr Beck’s lover at the time of her death – told the inquest that she had admitted to him that her father had been ‘worried’ about her.
It was heard SSgt Budd was married at the time and him and Gnr Beck were having an affair.
During their affair, Gnr Beck messaged SSgt Budd telling him her father was concerned about Bdr Mason – who had written a 15-page ‘love story about his feelings’ towards the teen solider.
Gnr Beck’s restaurant owner father Mr Beck reportedly warned her that: ‘Something is not right with him, he comes across very controlling… you need to stay well away’.
Gnr Beck is seen during her passing out parade with her father, Anthony Beck
The hearing at Salisbury Coroner’s Court also heard evidence from two other senior soldiers who were involved in a relationship with Gunner Beck.
One of them, Sergeant George Higgins was her instructor at Harrogate, the Army Foundation College where she trained after joining the army at 16. He was eight years her senior.
Mr Higgins, who has since left the army, refused to answer when asked when the relationship started but insisted that ‘it was not at Harrogate,’ after her training had finished.
He admitted he was ‘unfaithful’ to Gunner Beck as he had a ‘one-night stand’, sent ‘photos’ to other women, and had also been ‘talking behind her back’.
They split up in November 2021, just over a month before her suicide.
An Army service inquiry in October 2023 into Gnr Beck’s death found that ‘unwelcome’ harassment was a ‘causal factor’ in the events leading up to it.
It added: ‘Whilst this behaviour ended the week before her death, it appears that it continued to affect her and had taken a significant toll on her mental resilience and wellbeing.’
The inquiry report detailed a trio of additional ‘contributory factors’ to her death, which included the ‘significant strain’ of a sexual relationship with a married colleague in the last few weeks of her life.
Gnr Beck is pictured, centre, following her passing out parade at AFC Harrogate
Another factor highlighted by the report was a relationship which ended in November 2021 that involved ‘repeated allegations of unfaithfulness on the part of the boyfriend’.
And the internal probe noted an ‘unhealthy approach to alcohol, with episodes of binge-drinking’ played a contributory role in her death.
Joining up in March 2019, Gnr Beck spent her first year at the Army Foundation College (AFC), Harrogate, North Yorks, graduating in February 2020 in to the Royal Artillery.
She suffered a lower limb injury and stayed on as an instructor until July 2020 to recuperate and was then posted to 14 Regiment, Royal Artillery (RA) in Larkhill, Salisbury, for a four-week course as a drone operator.
After that, Jaysley was moved to 47 Regiment RA and volunteered to be part of the Corps Engagement Team (CET) from February 2021, during which her duties included promoting the Army at events, shows and in schools to potential new recruits.
But from the second half of 2021, the teenage soldier was ‘taken advantage’ of by four male colleagues, all of them older and senior in rank to her, which eventually, combined with other factors, drove her to take her own life.
In July 2021, the inquest heard how Gnr Beck was allegedly groped by WO1 Webber, who is accused of ‘forcing himself’ upon the young soldier during an Army team-building exercise before her death.
He sent her an apology letter after the alleged assault saying his ‘behaviour was unacceptable’.
However, giving evidence, BSM Webber – who was 39 at the time – refused to answer questions about the incident, claiming he had taken ‘legal advice’.
BSM Webber also refused to say whether he had told his wife that he allegedly put his hand on the female Royal Artillery soldier’s leg.
Gnr Beck (pictured) was allegedly targeted by WO1 Webber during an adventurous training trip to Thorney Island, home to 12 and 16 Regiments, Royal Artillery
BSM Webber was handed a ‘minor administrative sanction’ after admitting he attempted to kiss the junior soldier which was documented as being ‘inappropriate behaviour unbecoming of a Warrant Officer’.
‘Gunner Beck wasn’t well known to me,’ he claimed while giving evidence.
The inquest heard the trip involved watersports such as kite surfing and paddle boarding.
He then declined to answer questions from Coroner Mr Rheinberg.
He was asked what time he arrived to the function and in response, BSM Webber said that ‘upon legal advice… I decline to answer that question’.
He was referred to a letter of apology sent to Gnr Beck after the incident in which he said is ‘behaviour was unacceptable’ and was ‘unbecoming on my rank’.
Mr Rheinberg asked BSM Webber: ‘In the letter, you described your behaviour as absolutely unacceptable… what was your behaviour?.’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘I decline to answer, sir.’
Mr Rheinberg said: ‘Some time around 3am, on the 13th of July 2021, did you place your hand on Gnr Beck’s leg?’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘I decline to answer, sir.’
Gnr Beck is thought to have taken her own life over ‘relentless’ harassment during her time in the Army
Parents Anthony Beck and Leighann McCready outside Salisbury and Swindon Coroner’s Court, Salisbury Wilts
Gunner Beck is pictured on parade. The inquest into her death has already heard that WO1 Webber sent her an apology letter after the alleged assault saying his ‘behaviour was unacceptable’.
Mr Rheinberg said: ‘Did you pin Gunnner Beck down while attempting to kiss her?’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘I decline to answer, sir.’
Mr Rheinberg asked: ‘Were you drunk?’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘I decline to answer, sir.’
He was asked questions from Alison Gerry, the solicitor representing the family.
Ms Gerry outlined the evidence heard in the inquest and said it was claimed BSM Webber had played a drinking game called ‘last man standing’, ‘grabbed her leg, tried to kiss her and you made her so frightened she had to sleep in her car’.
The barrister asked BSM Webber: ‘Did you admit to your wife that you put your hand on Jaysley’s leg?’
In response, the Warrant Officer said: ‘I decline to answer.’
Ms Gerry referred to the letter of apology and him concluding it with the remark ‘I hope you can accept this apology and if there is anything that I can do for you my door will always be open’.
Larkhill Barracks near Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. Gunner Beck was found dead in December 2021
Pictured is an image of Gnr Beck during the teenage soldier’s time in the army
Mr Mason was asked a series of questions by the family’s counsel, Alison Gerry, about the Whatsapp messages that he sent to Gunner Beck before the coroner halted the line of questioning out of concern for the ‘mental health’ of the witness.
Finishing her questions, Ms Gerry asked Mr Mason: ‘You were Jaysley’s line manager, you were older, she was a young new soldier and your subordinate and it’s right you became completely obsessed with her, possessive, jealous, manipulative. And when she split up with her boyfriend, you were overjoyed as that meant you could be together and when that did not happen you became more obsessive and manipulative?’
He replied: ‘I decline to answer.’
She asked him: ‘You have just apologised for this unacceptable behaviour, unbecoming of your rank – did you think it was appropriate to offer to keep your door open?’
In response, BSM Webber said: ‘At the time it was a genuine apology, that’s all I can say.’
Speaking on Thursday, Brigadier Melissa Emmett said in the three years since Jaysley’s ‘sad death’ there had bene ‘significant changes in the Army, including the introduction of clear and unequivocal policies to state that there will be zero tolerance to unacceptable sexual behaviours’.
‘These changes are being embedded throughout our culture, policies and enduring practices across every part of the Army,’ she added.
‘There is more work to do, and the evidence heard in this inquest reminds us how important it is to make lasting and effective change.
‘It is my hope that such change will give service personnel the confidence they need to report sexual offences and inappropriate behaviours, knowing that they will be listened to.
‘We are absolutely clear that everyone must play a role in building and upholding the respectful professional environment we all need to thrive.’
Emma Norton, the family’s solicitor said: ‘It is hard to imagine a more critical set of conclusions from the coroner, who has today found that the multiple and extremely serious failings on the part of the Army in responding to Jaysley’s report of sexual assault and her experience of intolerable sexual harassment, contributed to her death.
‘What we’ve seen in Jaysley’s case is the immense burden women in the military have to carry in managing the behaviours of the men around them.
‘Whether trying to deal with over-friendly borderline inappropriate behaviours right the way through to sexual assaults, the women we’ve heard from will say that the burden falls on them at every stage – not to place themselves in harm’s way, not to drink too much, not to upset a male colleague by rejecting his advances, to always think about the impact on his career and family if they report him and all the time describing a lack of faith in the system and victimisation if they do complain.
‘To some extent these are reflections of problems women face in wider society – but because of the all-encompassing nature of military life, and because women are in such a minority, it can be so much worse for them.
‘Though an adult, Jaysley was so young and had little power or control over the many dysfunctional men whose conduct we have heard so much about these last two weeks.
‘What is absolutely clear to the family is that Jaysley could not rely upon the Army to help her to deal with these behaviours properly. It is time to force the Army (and the Navy and RAF) to drop their indefensible narrative that they know what is best for their people and can be trusted to handle complaints that raise the most serious allegations of bullying and discrimination competently and fairly.’
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