Mother of tragic soldier calls for change in Army to protect soldiers
Leighann McCready said she believed the Army ‘covered up’ her daughter’s complaints and the way she was treated.
The mother of Gunner Jaysley Beck has called for the Army and the Prime Minister to make changes to the way complaints by soldiers are investigated, as she made an emotional appeal for victims to seek help.
After the Salisbury inquest into her daughter’s death, Leighann McCready, of Oxen Park, Cumbria, said she believed the Army “covered up” her daughter’s complaints and the way she was treated.
Describing her daughter, she said: “Beautiful, just a beautiful, kind, caring, genuinely caring girl, always full of life, witty, always put others before herself and a true family girl.”
She said that she blamed the Army for her daughter’s death and called for outside organisations to be brought in to investigate complaints, including of sexual harassment, by soldiers.
She said: “I believe it was a cover-up and it’s been made clear through the findings that the Army have failed our daughter Jaysley.
“And for their own statistics, that there is no evidence of this taking place, makes good light for the Army that sexual assault, sexual harassment, doesn’t exist.
“When clearly we know first hand, it’s taken for our daughter’s passing for all of this to come to light.”
Describing how she felt, she added: “Disgusted, absolutely disgusted, on how the Army have failed our daughter.”
When asked who she blamed for her daughter’s death, Ms McCready said: “The Army.”
McCready said that 700 male and female soldiers had reached out with their own experiences since the start of the inquest.
She said: “I believe that this was systemic, this sadly not only happened to my daughter, this has happened to so many female soldiers, and male, within the Army, because nobody will listen, nobody will action it, nobody will take the correct procedures in listening, reporting or documenting what actually goes on.
“It’s easy for them to just dismiss and not action what the soldiers are bringing to the attention of seniors who should be listening.”
When asked why action was not taken, Ms McCready said: “Because more often than not it’s the seniors that are involved in this.”
Explaining what she wants the Prime Minister and the Army to do, she said: “Changes should have been made three years ago, not when our daughter’s inquest started, changes should have been made.
“The Army should not be marking their own homework, this needs to be dealt with outside the Army, especially when it comes to sexual assault, sexual harassment and sexual abuse. It should be passed on to outside sources.”
Ms McCready added: “There’s not a single day when we don’t speak of her name, think about her, she’s in every thought, every dream we have, and now what keeps us going is in Jaysley’s honour and her memory is to help other families and make immediate changes in the Army, and to support others and encourage males and females to speak up, that’s our aim now.
“The Army need to source outside companies when it comes to sexual abuse, sexual harassment, sexual assault, they shouldn’t be left to look into this for themselves.”
