Army officer jailed for dishonestly claiming £48k to pay children's school fees

PA

A "dishonest'' senior Army officer has been jailed for 21 months for falsely claiming more than £48,000 in allowances to pay for his children's boarding school fees.

Major General Nick Welch was convicted of a single charge of fraud following a four-week court martial trial at Bulford Military Court.

The court was told the 57-year-old two star general, who left the military in 2018, had applied for the allowance on the basis that both he and his wife, Charlotte, would not be living close to the children's schools in Dorset.

But the prosecution stated that Mrs Welch, 54, actually spent most of her time at the family's cottage in Blandford Forum, Dorset, close to the two schools rather than at their allocated military accommodation in Putney, London.

Judge Advocate General Alan Large said the panel of senior officers sentenced Welch, who is the most senior officer to face court martial since 1815, "on the basis the defendant behaved dishonestly throughout''.

As well as the custodial sentence to be served in a civilian prison, Welch was retrospectively dismissed from the Army, meaning he will not be able to benefit from the rank of retired major general.

He was also ordered to pay back the fraudulently claimed money.