The Royal Navy’s submarine service is plagued by ‘gang bangs’, drugs, sordid initiation ceremonies, ‘rape lists’ and lewd officers who share Top Trump-style cards celebrating the worst kinds of debauched behaviour, a whistleblower has claimed.
In the latest scandal to rock Britain’s Silent Service, insiders have said the elite nuclear submarine force is rife with abhorrent behaviour – despite military top brass pledging to clean up the act of the underwater branch of the navy.
The new allegations, exposed today by MailOnline, have shocked a former nuclear submarine captain, who said the British public will be ‘rightly appalled’ by the ‘levels of depravity and failures in leadership’. While a former head of the Royal Navy branded the reports ‘extraordinary’ and ‘unpleasant’.
Sources have claimed vile ‘initiation ceremonies’ are carried out by the crew, where new young sailors are terrorised and told to get onto ‘their hands and knees’ before being forced to perform sex acts on other experienced sailors.
Male personnel on one nuclear-armed sub created a sickening ‘crush depth rape list’ which ranked which crewmates would raped first in the case of a catastrophic event at sea – with senior officers allegedly aware of the document.
One young teenage male sailor was left so ‘petrified’ about being named on the list they begged older crewmates to protect them, amid claims complaints about the file had been ‘swept under the carpet’ and ignored by commanders.
‘The lunatics are in charge at the asylum,’ an insider told MailOnline. ‘We had a rape list on my submarine. There was a 19-year-old kid [on it]. When he realised he was on it, he was s***ing his pants. Everyone wanted to rape him. He was petrified.’
And MailOnline has learned that sailors have created a vile Top Trumps-style cards dubbed ‘Disgraced Dabbers’, which appears to celebrate the some of the worst offenders of alleged debauched behaviour – including high-ranking officers.
Pictured is an example of the Top Trumps card which have been shared among crew on a nuclear submarine
A mock-up of the deck of cards, dubbed ‘Disgraced Dabbers’ appeared to show a number of Royal Navy sailors
Sailors are given ratings based on ‘unacceptable sexual behaviour’, ‘alcohol‘, ‘professionalism’, ‘media interest’, ‘court martial’ and ‘false imprisonment of JR’ (junior rates).
One card of a top officer, seen by MailOnline, said: ‘Fun loving [senior officer] often enjoys the company of young men on a night out and is a popular figure amongst his subordinate, but has now possible used all of his 9 lives in avoiding trouble so far.’
Another sailor who features on the cards is Lieutenant Commander Nicholas Stone, who was sacked in 2022 for putting Britain’s security at risk by swapping emails about top secret nuclear sub movement with an officer he was having an affair with.
Reports have also been made detailing how a senior boat commander allegedly staged boozy house parties with junior sailors – as well as hosting ‘pizza Wednesday’ nights on his submarine.
The behaviour has been branded ‘unprofessional’ by a former nuclear submarine captain, who told MailOnline officers should ‘never behave like this’ with junior sailors.
And there are disturbing claims of rapes and sexual assaults taking place, as well as a culture of cocaine use among some sailors serving on nuclear submarines and some stationed at the navy’s nuclear submarine HQ, HMNB Clyde, in Faslane, Scotland.
‘I know of people who have been gang raped,’ an insider said. ‘I saw initiation ceremonies. One lad was on his knees ion his compartment with three lads and was trying to [perform a sex act on them].’
The former sailor claimed: ‘On HMS Vengeance eight kids tried to kill themselves, three were raped and two have now died. Honestly, it’s f***ing disgusting.’
Allegations have also been made that young sailors are forced to undergo repulsive ‘initiation ceremonies’ when they join a boat, which include performing sex acts on other sailors. (Pictured, HMS Vanguard arrives back at HM Naval Base Clyde)
The claims have appalled former nuclear submarine captain, Commander Ryan Ramsey, who said he was ‘depressed and saddened’ by the allegations.
‘I really don’t understand how we have got to these levels of depravity and failures in leadership and it needs to be sorted,’ Cdr Ramsey said.
‘When I was a junior officer, the thing was bullying and shouting and screaming. That was the really bad stuff. But now we’re talking about rape lists.’
Cdr Ramsey, who has seen some of the Top Trump cards, said there was a worrying culture that was ‘normalising’ activity that is ‘fundementally wrong’.
‘The general public will be rightly concerned about those environments and those people in particular. They should be rightly appalled by the behaviours described.
‘There is no restorative way of keeping people in the service like that. The toxicity of these people needs to be removed. They need to be fired.’
Former First Sea Lord, Admiral Lord Alan West, also expressed concern. He told MailOnline: ‘It’s very clear how one should behave in the Royal Navy – in my time if anyone did something wrong, we came down on them like a ton of bricks to sought them out. It all sounds very unpleasant and extraordinary.’
The claims are the latest to rock the submarine service following allegations of sexual bullying, misogyny and abuse against women were revealed by the Mail.
In October the head of the Royal Navy was forced into offering a grovelling apology for sexual attacks and bullying of women on submarines, after it was exposed by the Mail.
Admiral Sir Ben Key, the First Sea Lord, admitted crew members had suffered ‘intolerable’ harassment and abuse while serving on Britain’s nuclear deterrent, and revealed that 18 men had now been sacked.
Announcing the findings of a damning inquiry, Britain’s top sailor told a news conference: ‘I am truly sorry.’
He gave an unreserved apology to the Mail’s brave whistleblower, Sophie Brook, the first female warfare officer, who lifted the lid on the horrifying reality of sexual harassment beneath the waves since the ban on women serving on submarines was lifted in 2011.
Ms Brook, 32, was among those put on a vile ‘rape list’ drawn up by sick male colleagues and subjected to lewd and humiliating behaviour.
Sophie Brook (pictured) who had welcomed the investigation, has now withdrawn her support for the probe
The former lieutenant (pictured) questioned delays in the process and accused the Navy of trying to ‘scapegoat’ one senior officer
First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key (pictured here in 2021) launched the inquiry after the Mail exposed claims of mistreatment up and down the chain of command in the submarine service last October
Ms Brook, a former Lieutenant who lost her job after sending sending sensitive information to her lover Lt Cdr Stone, said she had spent her ‘entire career terrified of the Press, but as it turns out, they were the only people who heard what I had to say’.
She praised the Mail for uncovering the truth of her shocking story, which had fallen on deaf ears at Navy HQ.
Ms Brook was later invited to the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall for an unprecedented personal apology. The First Sea Lord said: ‘I apologised to her personally and unreservedly, praising her courage in coming forward.’
A source close to Sir Ben said: ‘He has praised the bravery and courage it took for Ms Brook to come forward and he recognises the role played by the Daily Mail.’
Our exclusive investigation – and Ms Brook’s brave decision to go public – in October 2022 prompted a torrent of claims.
A string of other whistleblowers came forward to describe a horrendous culture of sexual abuse and harassment in the service, into which the Navy launched an immediate inquiry.
The Senior Service revealed it had carried out 28 investigations into ‘unacceptable sexual behaviour’ resulting in 18 personnel being sacked, four demoted and six given reprimands.
The Navy published a 140-page report into its findings, about two-thirds of which is completely obscured by a security censor’s black ink, covering up shocking details of the abuses.
But Sir Ben said he had accepted its recommendations in full.
Sophie Brook pictured in Royal Navy regalia during her career. Ms Brook’s brave decision to go public – in October 2022 prompted a torrent of claims and later an apology from MoD top brass
They include a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to abuse, with commanders drilled in ‘values’ towards women and submarine crews being interviewed before and after each deployment to check for ‘healthy working cultures’.
Sir Ben added: ‘The investigation has confirmed misogyny, bullying and other unacceptable behaviours – and this is intolerable.’
He declared that ‘behaviours in the past that may have been normalised’ have ‘no place today’, and added: ‘Our people must be able to perform their duties with dignity, pride and respect.’
Trailblazer Ms Brook, one of the first women to join the submarine service, told how women were frequently screamed at, called c***s, and hit with clipboards and pens.
She said she was assaulted as she slept in her bed by a man of a higher rank, had her bras stolen from the laundry and caught engineers sniffing women’s underwear. When she once asked to be excused for a medical appointment in front of a group of men, an officer told her she could have the procedure in front of them if it was a ‘cervical examination’.
Sir Ben also offered a public apology to ‘any personnel, past or present, that have been subject to any form of unacceptable behaviour during their time in service’.
He said: ‘I am truly sorry. While much has been done to improve the experiences of personnel in the Royal Navy in recent years, such as establishing zero tolerance for unacceptable behaviours and improving avenues to raise concerns, there is more to be done.’
Ms Brook compelled the Navy to take ‘immediate action’ to ensure that ‘no one else is subjected to the systemic misogyny and discrimination that has long plagued the Submarine Service’.
She added: ‘No one should have to endure the harassment, abuse and mental toll that I and countless others have faced.’
The Royal Navy insisted it has a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to unacceptable sexual behaviour, with those convicted of a sexual offence being automatically booted out of the force.
The MoD added a victim witness care unit has also been set up to support those who have been victim.
A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: ‘As demonstrated by the recent internal investigation into unacceptable behaviours in submarines and as part of the zero-tolerance policy introduced in 2022, any behaviour which falls short of expected standards will not be tolerated and all allegations are taken extremely seriously and investigated thoroughly. Those found culpable will be held accountable for their actions.’
‘The examples highlighted pre-date the internal investigation into unacceptable behaviours, and we are taking robust steps to stamp out such abhorrent behaviour.’
The spokeswoman added: ‘We do not discuss individual cases, especially if it could prejudice an ongoing investigation.’