Fraud by misrepresentation is not an offence in MoD. This has been confirmed 4 times in the last couple of years by Cabinet Secretaries, Sir Robert Kerslake and Sir Jeremy Heywood, in writing. They formally ruled;
- It is not an offence to issue an order to commit fraud
- It is an offence to refuse to obey that order
These rulings repeated those of various Ministers; an unbroken line back to Dr Lewis Moonie. Probably beyond if I dug deeper, but I remember Moonie as he was particularly deranged. Ivor Caplin. Adam Ingram. Bob Ainsworth. Andrew Robathan.
As I have said many times over the years on pprune, I first came across this policy in December 1992 when 7 of us were threatened with dismissal by Air Vice Marshall Christopher Baker, Director General Support Management (in AMSO) for doing essentially what this officer has done; only far more and far more often. We flatly refused to commit fraud and Baker's staff at Harrogate simply committed it themselves. He threatened us again if we complained about their actions, stating he fully supported them. Baker and his two Air Cdres who conducted this "hearing" will not challenge my statement. All 7 witnesses are very impressive, with full records.
The evidence was presented to the Director Internal Audit in January 1993. He reported in June 1996, direct to PUS, supporting us to the hilt. Not one of his 19 recommendations has ever been implemented. Again, the very existence of this report, and the record showing precisely why it was commissioned (to head off dismissals), means no-one will contradict me.
I can confirm the process is not confidential and your annual report and service record will reflect your offence.
I still have all the related papers, as I do the tape recordings of the 9th September 2002 hearing that resulted in the same rulings by Sir Robert Walmsley, Chief of Defence Procurement.
If Private Eye wish to contact me.........