A military instructor who was fired after he was caught on video hitting a teenage recruit and calling him a ‘fat f***’ insisted it was just banter.
The tribunal heard about an investigation into Iraq war veteran Russell Davey at a military prep college regarding his treatment of young British Army hopefuls.
The tribunal in Watford heard that Mr Davey was the centre manager at Aldershot Military Preparation College, Hampshire.Â
Mr. Davey was reported to have called one recruit a ‘fat f***’ for making a drill mistake, then physically pushed him against a wall, smacked him on the back of the head, and referred to another as a ‘bell end’.
Despite the allegations, the ex-Royal Artillery veteran defended his actions as harmless ‘banter,’ stating that he interacted with the teenage recruits in a similar manner as he would with regular ‘squaddies’ because that was reflective of life in the Army.
Mr Davey, who has also served in Kuwait and the Falklands, was sacked after fellow instructors and veterans said his actions ‘would have been unacceptable in a military context’.
At an employment tribunal, he tried to sue for unfair dismissal but has now lost his case after it was found he was ‘wilfully blind’ to safeguarding rules.
Recruits aged 16 to 19 can enrol at the college with a view to starting a career in the armed forces.
Iraq war veteran Russell Davey was investigated by bosses at a military prep college over his treatment of young British Army hopefuls, a tribunal heard
Mr Davey’s employer was listed at the tribunal as Learning Curve Group, a training and education provider which offers courses for young people considering a career in the military or fitness sector.
He worked for Learning Curve Group from September 1, 2020 until he was sacked for gross misconduct on June 8, 2023.
He joined the Army in 2001 – serving in the infantry and the Royal Artillery – and remains an Army Reservist.
Mr Davey told the tribunal he and the other training instructors at the academy had military backgrounds, and were employed to ‘be military training instructors in a military environment’.
This included ‘shouting, swearing, but never aggressively’, he said.
Mr Davey didn’t have any formal teaching qualifications and wasn’t required to by Ofsted because of his experience in the military.
A health and safety handbook – which Mr Davey claimed he’s never seen – said: ‘The instructor must never strike a [recruit]’.
The Motivational Preparation College for Training Safeguarding and Health and Safety Handbook also said that humiliation, bad or abusive language and touching ‘must be avoided’.
The tribunal in Watford heard that Mr Davey was the centre manager at Aldershot Military Preparation College, Hampshire (pictured)
Learning Curve’s records indicate that Mr Davey had safeguarding training five times during his employment.
A parent made a complaint about bullying on March 22, 2023.
Following this, Mr Davey’s line manager, Lee Winders, made an unannounced visit on March 29.
He was told by Victoria Evans, a learner support coach, that ‘she had witnessed [recruits] having their arms twisted and being spoken to in an aggressive manner by instructors’.
She showed Mr Winders video clips of Mr Davey’s alleged behaviour, and Learning Curve reported this to a Local Authority Designated Officer who reported the matter to the police.
Mr Davey, along with another training instructor, was suspended on March 30, 2023.
The police told him on May 5, 2023 that they had a video showing physical contact between him and a 17-year-old recruit.
The tribunal heard that one of the videos, recorded in January 2023, showed Mr Davey calling a recruit ‘a fat f***’ for getting a drill wrong.
He then pushes the same young person, named only as ‘Learner A’ at the tribunal, into a wall.
Mr Davey then ‘strikes the [recruit] on the back of the head to which the [recruit] holds his head in discomfort and pain’.
He pushed the recruit in the back and called another a ‘f***ing bell end’.
Learner A said that this sort of thing happened often if the young people did something wrong.
During Learning Curve’s internal investigation, Mr Davey said in response to seeing the video on May 19, 2023: ‘I overstepped the mark however because of the understanding of their culture there is much more of a squaddie relationship.
‘You will tell me this is inappropriate however I don’t think it is. It is banter.
‘They are having a laugh as the video goes on.’
Mr Davey resigned on May 30, 2023, but was dismissed for gross misconduct on June 8, 2023.
The police imposed a Community Resolution, which is below a criminal conviction or caution, in relation to what was reported to them.
Mr Davey claimed officers told him it was ‘clear that the [recruits] have a good rapport with [him], they laughed, joked and carried on with the lesson, a clear indicator no abuse was taking place beyond the isolated contact’.
The tribunal’s judgement said: ‘The evidence from [Mr Davey’s colleagues], both of whom are ex-military, is that [Mr Davey]’s conduct was outside anything that they had seen when in the military and would have been unacceptable in a military context.
‘In any event, the Academy is not the military and the [recruits] are not soldiers.’
Employment Judge Tepo Din concluded: ‘Given his position as a Centre Manager and, prior that, Lead Training Instructor, it is hard to see how willful blindness to policies and procedures that he was meant to have read can become mitigation for a serious breach of those policies and procedures.
‘In this case, though, the Tribunal finds that [Mr Davey] was aware that the conduct was seriously inappropriate.’
Mr Davey’s claims for unfair dismissal and other claims were all dismissed.
