Pub User

Not knowing the exact experience of the crew (of four), particularly as this would only be known to a select few due to the nature of SF Ops and Ex, I can only await proof of YOUR statement.

Picky I know but you did say inaccuracies. I await the rest.. . <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

OK then inaccuracy, it was post happy-hour when I wrote it!

Beagle . . I think your comments are unwarranted and juvenile.

Jenks. . Haven't seen you since BFTS....good letter though, well done.

What has actually happened to C Jenkins?

It all seems to have gone quiet - anybody in the know care to update us as to what has befallen this gutsy officer Jenks?

<img src="confused.gif" border="0"> <img src="confused.gif" border="0">

Perhaps he has been forced to work in the same office as Admin Guru.

Or has he become John Day's teaboy? (no, not toyboy!) <img src="eek.gif" border="0">

Just putting this back to the top

Pub User

From your last posts I can only assume that you work with Flt Lt Jenkins. If this is the case could you at least let the rest of us know what is happening? If he is a man merely seeking to see his name in the Telegraph then what can be the harm of letting the rest of us know what has, or hasn’t happened?

down route at the mo, but it would appear that:

our man has had an interview with flt comd, sqn comd and mr nivea himself. it would appear that he has been told that writing accusations about a serving bigwig is out of order; against queens regs etc.

although his topic this time is a popular slanderous theme, the general proposition that you may as a serving officer write to the national press, is wrong.

what do the lawyers say?

we all have plenty to ......

friend or no friend, you cannot publicly slag off a serving senior officer. quite right too.

Mr Jiffni RN

jiffni

Thank you for the news of Flt Lt Jenkins. I agree with you re slandering/embarrassing in the light of the law and would also appreciate any informed view as to whether this has occurred in this case.

Oh I See

sorry for the lack of reply, but I parted company from Jenks recently thanks to an Innsworth escape chit.

Intersting news from jiffni, I hope nothing serious comes Jenk's way. Calling a senior officer's comments 'fatuous', when the House of Lords has already judged them to be innaccurate can hardly be described as publicly slagging him off. Or can it? Any legal gurus here?

A defamatory comment is one which reflects on a person’s reputation so as to lower the plaintiff in the estimation of right-thinking members of society generally. The ordinary and natural meaning of the words may include any implication or inference which a reasonable reader guided by general knowledge would draw from the words.

Publication consists of communicating defamatory material to a third party. If this is in written form then the tort is Libel, if spoken it is slander The tort of libel is actionable per se (unlike slander where special damage must be proved).

That is the legal requirement to establish the offence. However, the defences to the above include Truth (known as justification). As the house of lords select committee report criticised day, merely repeating these criticisms would not amount to libel.

That is the position in the law of tort. However, the sticking point could be QR 999, where (paraphrasing) it is quite simply not on to criticise a senior officer where those criticisms would lead to others being dissatisfied with the actions of that officer or with their terms of service generally. As the HoL has already criticised day i dont personally think they could proceed with disciplinary action under that QR, as they could not prove that the letter from jenks caused any dissatisfaction that had not already been caused (and criticised) by that officer himself.

2 words to say about this. $h1te.

I suppose it had to be done, discipline and good order and all that but their airships are attempting to hide behind QRs now, are they?

Sadder and sadder, more pathetic every day this farce is allowed to continue..

I know of one very senior officer who is likely to end up with a severely finger poked chest should he attend the SH reunion. Civvies are allowed to do that, of course.

<img src="wink.gif" border="0">

Pub User

No problem. Good job you got a chit because tunnelling was never an option from that place!!

. .uncle peter

Thank you for an enlightening post. If nothing else it serves to show how careful we must be when speaking of our seniors. Such respectful silence has always been the way of my time in the RAF. However that respect has also been reflected by the actions of these seniors when their juniors ‘fell off the cart’. It now seems that the Mirror Reflective Mk1 has been replaced by the very modern Mirror One Way Mk1.

Uncle peter

Perhaps they should consider Day for court martial.

Any volunteers for the court?

Surely as the HoL has already decided that their Airships were guilty of a 'gaff', then merely reiterating the comments of the highest decision making body in UK (discounting Brussels of course!) cannot be construed as breaking the aforementioned QR, can it?

Stands by for FLARRAC

Back to the top...

Ah, sod it! If the senior officers have publicly dug a bloody great hole for themselves then QRs cannot be hidden behind. Everything is already out in the public domain and no way can Jenks's remarks be considered as lowering anyones opinion of the senior officers. Those 2 did it all on their own!

No right-thinking military man could possibly hope to charge Jenks under QRs and hope to succeed. Come to think of it, no idiot could hope to proceed with such an action either.

Dear Flt Lt Jenkins,. .I have the honour to be.................

Having only just RTBd from the land of camels and shower bags last week, I have just read the said letter.. .May I say how very proud I feel to find that after 30 years in a rapidly declining service, we still have some officers left (junior officers at that I might add) that have shown true courage and bravery?. .You epitomise all that should be expected from an Officer Sir, and I and my fellow AA salute you!. .I fear however, that you will be rewarded by those in power, not with a medal or even a congratulations, but by something closely approaching that feeling of cold steel in the back.. .Have no doubt tho' Sir, you have placed yourself most definately high up with the eagles. Far higher than those in power can even dream of, and your actions will most certainly not be forgoten. . .From a (very) old Master, I salute you.

Back to the top. Anybody know what has happened to Jenks? How much of it has come off the fan? Or are their Airships so sh*t scared of more bad publicity that they daren't clobber him?