North Yorkshire News

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting ‘sickened’ by sex abuse allegations at Harrogate Army college

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting says he has been left “absolutely sickened” by allegations of rape, sexual assault and harassment involving young female recruits at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate.

The allegations have put the Harrogate military college under renewed national scrutiny after four women spoke to the BBC about their experiences while training there.

The women described allegations of sexual assault, harassment and a wider culture of misogyny and sexual violence.

Streeting said the women had been “badly failed” and praised them for coming forward.

For people in Harrogate and across North Yorkshire, the revelations concern one of the town’s most significant military establishments — a college responsible for training some of the youngest recruits entering the British Army.

What has happened at the Army Foundation College in Harrogate?

The Army Foundation College (AFC) is the UK’s largest military training establishment for under-19s and receives all of the Army’s 16-year-old recruits.

Four women who attended the college during the past five years have now spoken to the BBC about alleged sexual abuse and harassment.

Their accounts have prompted fresh questions over safeguarding, supervision and the treatment of young women training at the Harrogate site.

Police received 16 reports of sexual offences in a year

Figures obtained by the BBC through a Freedom of Information request reveal the scale of the concerns.

North Yorkshire Police received 16 reports of sexual offences linked to the Army Foundation College in the year to June.

They included allegations of:

• Sexual assault
• Voyeurism
• Exposure

The information provided did not state whether any of the reports resulted in prosecutions.

Separate Ministry of Defence figures show 176 complaints of inappropriate sexual behaviour were made at the Harrogate college between January 2018 and June 2025.

Former recruit says she was raped aged 17

One of the most disturbing accounts came from a former recruit identified by the BBC as “Tilly”, whose name was changed to protect her identity.

She said she was just 17 years old when several fellow junior soldiers invited her into their room.

She told the BBC:

“They started taking my clothes off and then this led to them doing stuff I didn’t consent to.

“And then I was raped… by multiple junior soldiers, same age as me. It went on for hours. I felt like a piece of meat.”

Mother says daughter slept against her bedroom door

Another account was provided by the mother of a former recruit identified as “Amy”.

She said her daughter was sexually assaulted and subjected to almost daily sexual harassment during her training.

Her mother said the lock on Amy’s room was not working and claimed:

“She found herself sleeping across the door to stop male soldiers coming in.”

Another former recruit who alleged she was sexually assaulted and harassed at AFC claimed misogynistic attitudes among some staff influenced the behaviour of teenage male recruits.

She recalled one instructor making an explicit sexual remark about women.

Wes Streeting: Women were ‘badly failed’

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said he was “absolutely sickened” by the reports and expressed sympathy for the women who had spoken publicly.

He said:

“We have a duty to uphold the very highest standards in uniform and to treat every woman with the dignity and respect she deserves.

“I don’t want anyone who has the ambition and talent to join our armed forces to be deterred, so it’s contingent on us to make sure that we’ve got our act together.”

Streeting said he would be “looking in detail specifically at what’s gone wrong at Harrogate”, as well as considering how cultural change could be delivered more widely across the Armed Forces and defence.

Calls grow for an independent inquiry

The revelations have prompted calls for an independent investigation into the Harrogate college.

Former MP Sarah Atherton, who served in the Army’s Intelligence Corps and led a 2021 government review into the experiences of women in the Armed Forces, said public confidence in AFC could “only be restored through an independent inquiry”.

MP Emma Lewell went further, saying:

“If this was any other school or residential environment for children, it would have been closed down.”

Children’s Commissioner responds

Children’s Commissioner for England Dame Rachel de Souza described the reported attacks as “appalling”.

She said she would work to ensure the allegations were investigated and that those responsible — including anyone found to have failed in their safeguarding responsibilities — were held to account.

She also stressed that children living away from home have the right to contact her office for support and said she would ensure girls attending AFC were able to do so.

What has the Army said?

The Army said:

“Unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place in our armed forces.”

It urged anyone who has experienced or witnessed unacceptable behaviour to come forward.

The Ministry of Defence said the Army Foundation College “welcomes external scrutiny and challenge”.

It said AFC had hosted safeguarding bodies, parliamentarians, the Children’s Commissioner’s office and the Armed Forces Commissioner during the past year.

The MoD also highlighted the college’s outstanding Ofsted report.

Why this matters to Harrogate

The Army Foundation College has a major presence in Harrogate and trains young people from across the country, including recruits who enter military life at just 16.

The latest allegations therefore go beyond the experiences of the four women who have spoken publicly.

They raise wider questions about how teenage recruits are protected, how allegations are handled and whether the culture at the college needs fundamental change.

With the Defence Secretary now promising to examine specifically “what’s gone wrong at Harrogate”, scrutiny of the college is unlikely to disappear quickly.