RAF Discriminated Against 160 Better-Qualified White Pilots in Diversity Drive: UK Lawmaker

Graduating cadets parade at the Graduation Ceremony of the Queens Squadron and Sovereigns Review, at RAF College Cranwell, in eastern England, on July 16, 2020. Julian Simmonds /Pool/AFP via Getty Images

A recruitment officer at the Royal Air Force (RAF) resigned last year after finding about 160 cases of positive discrimination against better-qualified male white pilots, a senior MP has revealed.

Group Capt. Lizzy Nicholl had quit her role as head of the recruitment drive after determining that “about 160 cases of positive discrimination had taken place,” said Tobias Ellwood, Conservative chair of the Defence Select Committee in the House of Commons.

Tobias Ellwood MP speaking during the Veterans' Mental Health Conference at King's College London on Mar. 14, 2019. Gareth Fuller/WPA Pool/Getty Images

Charing a committee session on Wednesday, Ellwood said: “In summary, this was about a precedence of selection given to ethnic minority and female pilots over better-qualified white pilots in order to improve the RAF’s diversity profile, even though it could materially impact on the RAF’s operational performance. This all began back in November 2020 and ran until March 2021.

“Group Capt. Lizzy Nicholl was then placed in charge of recruitment and selection at that time, and it’s her who refused to continue this formal programme. She determined, I understand, about 160 cases of positive discrimination had taken place. And she ended up having to resign, not wishing to go through with this policy.”

Air Chief Marshal Sir Mike Wigston, head of the RAF, told MPs, “I very much regret and I’m very sorry that the group captain you mentioned felt that she had no alternative but to resign.”

He said the diversity drive had been made with “the best of intent,” but added that the RAF will learn from the episode once a statutory inquiry into the matter has concluded.

Wigston said that he would make “no apologies for setting a challenging, aspirational goal for the Royal Air Force for diversity,” but admitted the “stretching target” had “put intolerable stress” on individual recruiting officers.

He insisted there had been no impact on standards, saying, “I can absolutely assure this committee that there was no compromise of entry standards, there was no impact on the standard of recruits from any background, there was no impact on the front line or on operational effectiveness.”

Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigston speaks during a service marking the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Britain at Westminster Abbey in central London on Sept. 20, 2020. Aaron Chown/Pool/AFP

‘No Discrimination’

Nicholl’s resignation was first reported by Sky News in August. In an email to her boss, seen by Sky News, the group captain said she was not willing to allocate slots on RAF training courses based purely on a specific gender or ethnicity, as it was against equality legislation and against the RAF’s own legal guidance.

But Wigston, head of the RAF, told Sky News on Sept. 13 that the RAF would “do everything we can to recruit from the widest pool of talent,” and there had been “absolutely no drop in operational standards” and “no discrimination against any group.”

However, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) admitted that “some mistakes were made” in regard to recruitment.

In a statement issued on Sept. 26, an MoD spokesperson acknowledged, “While overall standards did not drop, in hindsight we accept that despite the best of intentions, some mistakes were made.”

“The RAF is now confident that our approach is correct, however we are investigating some processes and decisions taken in the past, so it would be inappropriate to comment further while this is ongoing,” the spokesperson added.

The RAF’s diversity target is for 40 percent of all new recruits to be women and 20 percent to be from ethnic minorities by 2030.

Red Arrows Dismissals

At Wednesday’s hearing, Wigston also addressed allegations of “inappropriate behaviour” in the Red Arrows, the RAF’s aerobatic display team, which led to the dismissal of two pilots.

In November, the commander of the Red Arrows was removed from his post while an alleged relationship he had with a junior team member was investigated.

The Red Arrows aerobatics display team perform during the Bournemouth Air Festival in Bournemouth, England, on Aug. 18, 2016. Carl Court/Getty Images

Wing Cmdr. David Montenegro, known as Monty, allegedly had an affair in 2017 which is reported to have resulted in the colleague’s pregnancy.

The Times of London reported in August that members of the team were being investigated over accusations including of misogyny and sexual harassment.

Wigston told MPs that he was “appalled” to hear the allegations.

He said: “As soon as I became aware of those reports, we reached out to the people who we felt were the likely victims. We encouraged them, and to their enormous credit they were prepared to talk, they were prepared to engage with what was at first a cultural assessment.

“But as soon as we saw all of the warning signs, we immediately went into a non-statutory inquiry, which led ultimately to administrative action and dismissal of two pilots and the administrative action sanctioning of three other members of the squadron.”

But the RAF leader stressed that this conduct was “the exception,” adding, “The vast, vast majority of our people do amazing things on behalf of the country day in, day out and they behave impeccably.”

PA Media contributed to this report.