Two-star general jailed for fraud which 'put morale and discipline of troops at risk'

The most senior Army officer to face a court martial in more than 200 years has been jailed for fraud as a judge said he had put the discipline and morale of troops at risk.

Major General Nick Welch, 57, lied to military authorities about his wife living with him 120 miles away from their children’s schools so they could claim back nearly £50,000 in fees.

He was convicted this week of a single charge of fraud following a four-week court martial trial at Bulford Military Court.

The two-star general is the highest ranking officer to be brought before a court martial since 1815, when Lieutenant General Sir John Murray was convicted of abandoning his siege guns without due cause in the Napoleonic Wars.

Welch applied for an allowance for his children’s education on the basis both he and his wife, Charlotte, would not be living close to their schools in Dorset when he took up the job at the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) headquarters in 2015.

Prosecutors claimed, however, Mrs Welch actually spent little time at their military accommodation in Putney, London, which she was said to visit “very rarely”.

Instead, the 54-year-old mainly lived at the family’s cottage in Blandford Forum, Dorset, close to the two schools.

On Friday, Judge Advocate General Alan Large jailed Welch for 21 months and said the panel of senior officers were sentencing him "on the basis the defendant behaved dishonestly throughout".

He was retrospectively dismissed from the Army, which he left in 2018, meaning he will not be able to benefit from the rank of a retired major general.

Welch will serve his custodial sentence in a civilian prison and was ordered to pay back all of the money he had fraudulently claimed.

Judge Large said: "A disciplined organisation such as the Army relies on those in rank and authority to set an example and to be beyond reproach.

"The higher your rank, the more important it is that you uphold the values and standards of the Army in which you serve and when an officer of the rank of major general offends as you have, the potential to erode discipline and undermine morale is considerable.

"We have no doubt you understand that your rank of major general and role as the assistant chief of general staff are factors which aggravate the offence and require recognition in the sentence."

His trial had heard how £48,000 in education allowance was claimed between Dec 2015 and Feb 2017.

Soldiers are offered funding to cover 90 per cent of their children’s education when they are relocated on assignment under the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA), as long as their spouse is not away from the residence for more than 90 days per year.

One of their children was sent to the £37,000 a year Clayesmore School while another went to the £22,500 Hanford School, the court was told.

An investigation was launched in February 2017 after a neighbour alerted the authorities about the Welch family's absence from the London home.

It found Mrs Welch, who did freelance work in London on occasion, spent less than 10 per cent of her Fridays over the 15 month period in London and none of her Saturdays.

Welch was said to spend every weekend at the family home, while his wife even texted a friend saying she could see Hanford from her cottage window.

Welch had denied being dishonest and said he believed that he had complied with the requirements of accompanied service because his wife was living with him for the majority of the time.

He first joined the Army in 1984 and had served for more than 33 years when he retired in 2018 from his position as the assistant chief of general staff at the MoD headquarters in London.

Welch had been awarded a number of medals, including for his service in Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and for long service with good conduct.

Judge Large said: "In stark contrast to the events leading to your conviction in this trial, you had a highly successful military career, served your country with distinction on operations and you were a fine ambassador for your service and nation."

Welch was given character references by senior military commanders including former commander Joint Forces Command, General Sir Richard Barrons, who said he believed the defendant was of "unimpeachable integrity".

His barrister, Sarah Jones QC, told the court the 90-day rule was a “mess”, saying of the conviction: "It will shake the foundations of the man and what he has achieved and what he has failed in two things he cared about most, for his career is brought to an ignominious end and his family life has been shattered as his children are distraught and his wife puts a brave face on things."

The judge said the sentence was reduced from three years to 30 months because of his good character and then reduced to 21 months due to the four year delay in proceedings.