Senior naval officer given a gong in the King’s Honors List while under investigation in the sex bullying scandal that engulfed the Royal Navy’s submarine service

A senior naval officer was given a gong in the King’s Honors List amid an investigation into the sex bullying scandal that engulfed the submarine service, the Mail can reveal.

Embarrassingly for the Royal Navy, the man was nominated for the prestigious award by a superior – and the most senior officer in the service, Sir Ben Key, ‘went through the roof’ when he found out.

Last week, Sir Ben, the First Sea Lord, apologized to women after an internal investigation found that sexual assault, misogyny and bullying – as a Daily Mail investigation found – had become ‘normalised’.

He admitted that sailors had faced ‘intolerable’ harassment and abuse while serving in the UK’s nuclear deterrent. A total of 21 men have now been dismissed, while others have been demoted or given lesser reprimands.

Last week, Sir Ben Key, the First Sea Lord, pictured, apologized to women after an internal investigation confirmed sexual assaults, misogyny and bullying.

Behind the scenes, Sir Ben was furious to find out that while the sex harassment investigation was underway, one of the accused men had been given a gong in the King’s Honors List.

Now the Mail can reveal that Sir Ben was furious behind the scenes when he found out that while the sex bullying investigation was underway, one of the accused men had been given a gong in the King’s Honors List.

It is understood the agency is now desperately trying to reclaim it by asking the Honors Committee to withdraw it.

At the time, the officer was under investigation over claims by war officer Sophie Brook that he put his penis in her pocket, blew on her neck and licked her ear during a deployment on a Royal Navy submarine.

Military leaders launched their investigation after Ms Brook’s story was revealed in the Daily Mail. The investigation lasted two years, during which time Ms. Brook and other brave whistleblowers were forced to endure the uncertainty of the process, not knowing what it would yield.

At the time, the officer was under investigation over claims by war officer Sophie Brook that he put his penis in her pocket, blew on her neck and licked her ear during a deployment on a Royal Navy submarine. HMS Vengeance, the fourth and final Vanguard-class submarine of the Royal Navy.

But during that time, the officer against whom she had made serious allegations enjoyed the benefits of life in the so-called ‘higher service’.

The man attended official navy dinners and was put in the spotlight by his colleagues. He was even ‘promoted’ in rank.

And he was nominated for one of the highest honors the nation can bestow. It was announced that he was among those awarded ‘state honours’ with a gong in one of the King’s Honors Lists designed to ‘highlight the extraordinary contributions and services of people in the United Kingdom’.

The report concludes that some of the allegations against the man were true, including licking Miss Brook’s ear and blowing on her neck, apparently in a prank to distract her while she used the submarine’s periscope. However, it is believed that the claim that he had put his penis in her pocket was not accepted.

Sophie Brook (pictured) was placed on a vile ‘rape list’ drawn up by sick male colleagues in the Navy

Sophie Brook pictured in Royal Navy regalia during her career. Ms Brook’s courageous decision to go public – in October 2022 sparked a flood of claims

It is understood the officer has not been dismissed, and although ‘action’ has been taken to punish him for his role, he remains employed.

Meanwhile, a so-called ‘forfeiture committee’ has been set up by the top brass to recommend stripping him of his honor on the grounds that it would bring the service into disrepute, and recently made that recommendation to the Honors Committee, which is part of the Cabinet Office. , to consider.

A naval source said: ‘It’s not that the First Sea Lord was afraid to fire anyone. He did. But the actions taken were dependent on the findings of the investigation.”

When Sir Ben Key released the findings of his damning investigation last Friday, he apologized unreservedly to the Mail’s brave whistleblower. Ms Brook, 32, was the first female war officer, and she exposed the horrific reality of sexual harassment beneath the waves since the ban on women serving on submarines was lifted in 2011. She was placed on a vile ‘rape list’. set up by sick male colleagues and subjected to lewd and degrading behavior.