MoD investigates race hate on web

Facebook remarks said to be from serving soldiers - Comments follow row over Prince Harry video

The Ministry of Defence launched a fresh inquiry into racism in the army last night after the Guardian uncovered a series of extreme and offensive comments on the social networking site Facebook.

The racist remarks were posted by people claiming to be serving soldiers. One writer's espoused political idea was to "kill the paks", while another listed having an interest in "ethnic cleansing" and enjoying "SS marching music".

Many of the remarks referred to "Pakis" and "ragheads", and on one discussion thread someone from the West Midlands claimed there was deep-seated hatred of immigrants in the UK among many troops, who were, the writer thought, sick of seeing people burn flags and preaching hate on British streets.

The comments follow the publication of a video of Prince Harry last week in which the third in line to the throne described another soldier as a "Paki".

The prince's remarks drew widespread criticism from equality campaigners, and the Equality and Human Rights Commission demanded an inquiry. A spokeswoman said the watchdog would press the armed forces to dismantle its racist "barrack-room culture".

The Guardian has given the commission a dossier containing the comments from the social networking site.

Many of those who wrote on this Facebook site expressed support for the far-right British National party. One gave an army number and base before asking others on the message board: "Anyone fancy a spot of Paki bashing?"

Others joined a thread called "I'm a soldier why should i fight for stealing immigrant scum".

Equality campaigners said that the level of racism and extremism expressed underlined the need for the army to take immediate action.

"These comments show quite clearly that racism still exists within the army," said Mohammed Shafiq, chief executive of the Ramadan Foundation, a Muslim youth group. "There has undoubtedly been a huge change in attitude among senior ranks and ministers but this shows that has simply not trickled down to the rank and file ... If the army truly wants to start recruiting more people from an ethnic minority background this has got to be addressed as a matter of urgency."

The MoD said it would investigate the remarks, insisting it was committed to "a working environment which is free from harassment, intimidation and unlawful discrimination".

A senior military source told the Guardian that anyone found to "hold the views" expressed by those Facebook correspondents would be "hunted down and dealt with most severely" if it was clear they had not met the army's "required high standards of behaviour". The source added: "If these people are soldiers and do genuinely have these opinions I don't think there is any genuine soldier or officer who would want them in their army. But I know from my experience they represent a tiny, tiny percentage ... in the UK's armed forces."

The MoD claimed progress in tackling racism, saying the percentage of forces from an ethnic minority background rose from 5.9% last year to 6.3%, though the target was 8%. It aimed to employ forces staff "from all of the UK's diverse communities so we reflect the society we serve".

Guardian

Harry's set the clock back 10 years

A former sergeant, Nassir Khan, 44, from Blackburn, Lancashire, spent nine years in the Royal Artillery. But after suffering consistent racial abuse as a Muslim he sued the Ministry of Defence for discrimination and won a five-figure out-of-court settlement. He has family members still serving in the Army.

My first experience of racism in the Army came on the day I completed my enlistment. The lieutenant-colonel in charge put two pound coins down and said: 'Here is the Queen's shilling, go and buy yourself a cup of tea and a chapati.'

That was the start of what became a regular pattern of behaviour during my nine years in the military. It was not unusual to be called a 'Paki' or a 'black bastard'. I served during the first Gulf War and during this time I was told I was fighting on the wrong side, that people like me should be shot and that all Muslims should be put in holes. It got to the point where I was not sure whether the men who I was fighting alongside would not shoot me in the back.

I was the first non-white face in my regiment when I joined up in 1988. But even then I realised that the language being used was completely unacceptable. I always made an issue of it because I was not prepared to be verbally abused just for the colour of my skin, but it felt like a lonely fight.

There is a perception that this abuse is restricted to the lower ranks, but in my case the worst abuse came from the non-commissioned officers. When I eventually brought my discrimination case, it was against two senior NCOs.

That is why racism of any sort is so damaging and unacceptable and why what Prince Harry said is so disappointing. If the senior officers don't make it clear that using a word like 'Paki' is offensive and improper then how can they expect the lower ranks to do it?

Prince Harry has set the clock back another 10 years. I left the Army in 1999 with a medical discharge after all my attempts to transfer came to nothing. I was told there was no point me trying to join the special forces 'because they don't like Pakis'. I'm sure the back injury which forced me to leave was due to injuries when I was attacked by two paratroopers who racially abused me during training.

We are told that things have changed a lot. They haven't. I have a close relative who has been in for nearly 20 years and nothing has changed. He says the abuse is just the same. He transferred out of his regiment because it was so racist.

I am proud to have served my country. My great-grandfather served in the First World War and my grandfather in the Second. I was decorated during the Gulf War, but what happened to me destroyed my pride in the Army. I recently tried to join a reserve regiment along with a white friend. I was rejected because I was told I lived too far away. My friend, who lives 10 miles further away, was accepted.

I'm afraid there is still a long way to go before racism is removed from the ranks of the military.

Independent

Prince forced to apologise for calling comrade 'Paki'

Outrage as video shows Harry make 'racist' remark. MoD inquiry to examine three-year-old incident

Prince Harry was facing an Army investigation last night into his conduct after his racist reference to a comrade as a "little Paki friend" in a video diary obtained by a Sunday newspaper was met with a barrage of criticism.

The Queen's grandson issued a full apology, recognising the offence caused by his comment about a fellow officer cadet at the Sandhurst military academy. But attempts by St James's Palace to explain that the third in line to throne was using the term as a "nickname" for a friend met with an implacable response from politicians and anti-racism campaigners.

David Cameron, the Conservative leader, said the language used by the gaffe-prone prince had been "completely unacceptable". The Rahmadan Foundation, a Muslim youth association, described Harry, who is training to become a combat helicopter pilot with the Army Air Corps, as a "thug" who needed to show "real remorse". The video, in which Harry is also heard calling another Sandhurst colleague a "raghead", is the latest controversy to surround the prince. In 2005, he apologised to Jewish groups after he attended a fancy dress party wearing a Nazi armband.

The Ministry of Defence confirmed that the prince's conduct on the video diary, shot three years ago while he was training to become an officer in the British Army, would be "looked into" by his commanding officer. But unless a formal complaint is received from Lieutenant Ahmed Raza Khan, the high-flying Pakistani officer who was the target of the prince's remark, it is understood that Harry will not face formal disciplinary proceedings.

An Army spokeswoman said: "The Army does not tolerate inappropriate behaviour in any shape or form. The Army takes all allegations of inappropriate behaviour very seriously and all substantive allegations are investigated."

Defence sources suggested the prince was likely to receive nothing more severe than words of advice because the incident had taken place in 2006, he had issued a public apology and has an "excellent" military record, which includes 10 weeks of frontline duty as a forward air controller in Afghanistan's Helmand province last year.

The film, which was obtained by the News of the World, is a blow to the Army at a time when it is trying to increase its intake of ethnic minority recruits, who are currently under-represented in the armed services.

The footage, shot while Harry was waiting in an airport departure lounge with fellow cadets to travel to Cyprus for manoeuvres, carries a commentary from the prince as he pans over sleeping colleagues before zooming in on the face of Lt Khan. Harry says: "Ah, our little Paki friend, Ahmed."

In a statement, St James's Palace said the prince was "extremely sorry" for any offence caused: "Prince Harry used the term without any malice and as a nickname about a highly popular member of his platoon. There is no question that Prince Harry was in any way seeking to insult his friend."

Officials in Pakistan said senior officers were yesterday discussing whether to allow Lt Khan, who received a special award from the Queen as the best foreign student in Harry's Sandhurst class, to speak to the media about the incident. One high-ranking Pakistani army officer said the prince's choice of language would cause disquiet: "This will be very offensive thing for someone to say. I do not know why he said this."

The sentiments were echoed by a British uncle of Lt Khan, who said that his nephew had never characterised himself as close friend of the prince. Iftikhar Raja, from Croydon, south London, said: "I am proud to be British and if someone called me Pakistani I would be proud to be called that, but Paki is definitely a derogatory remark. We expect better from our Royal Family on whom we spend millions of pounds for training and schooling."

Independent

Prince mocks gays and Asians in secret video

Prince Harry - racist, homophobic, ignorant and inbred. A BNP candidate if ever I saw one.

'Paki' jibe set to infuriate army chiefs aiming to recruit Muslims into forces

A secret video showing Prince Harry making racist remarks and mocking his late grandmother has been discovered.

The prince, who is third in line to the throne, made the comments in footage shot while training as an officer at the Sandhurst military academy in 2006, a year after being forced to make a public apology for wearing a Nazi swastika at a fancy dress party.

In the film, the 24-year-old prince calls an officer from the Pakistani army, who was on the course with him, "our little Paki friend" and, when he sees another officer cadet wearing a camouflage veil, exclaims: "Fuck me, you look like a raghead." He also mocks the Queen - the commander-in-chief of the British army - during a pretend mobile phone call to the late Queen Mother.

Last night, St James's Palace issued an apology for Harry's behaviour in the film, obtained by the News of the World. A Ministry of Defence spokesman said last night: "This sort of language is not acceptable in a modern army."

The Equality and Human Rights Commission has demanded a formal inquiry into Harry's behaviour, and Muslim groups and leading MPs have warned the comments could increase tensions with Islamic groups in the UK.

The film will infuriate army chiefs, who are actively trying to recruit Muslims as intelligence officers and translators for the campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan. Staff officers have insisted the Army's policy must be "zero tolerance to all forms of discrimination". But the casual use of racist terms by Harry, who was promoted to lieutenant last year, appears to add weight to recent claims by a Jamaican-born soldier that he faced regular racist abuse from non-commissioned and senior officers.

In September, three army instructors were suspended after an undercover BBC investigation into the Infantry Training Centre at Catterick, in Yorkshire. During the programme, one recruit was secretly filmed yelling "Paki" as he plunged his bayonet into a target dummy.

The video begins as the prince joins other cadets gathering at an airport for their flight to Cyprus. Harry is behind the camcorder, panning over snoozing soldiers when he zooms in on the face of a Pakistani soldier. "Ah, our little Paki friend ... Ahmed," he whispers.

The second remark comes after arriving in Cyprus. Harry is again filming his comrades when one puts what appears to be some camouflage over his head. Harry says: "It's Dan the Man ... Fuck me, you look like a raghead."

Later, Harry is filmed pretending to finish a call to the Queen. "I've got to go, got to go. Send my love to the corgis. Send my love to the corgis and Grandpa. God Save You... yeah, that's great."

In another piece of footage, Harry gives orders to his comrades on an upcoming exercise. When he asks if there are any questions, one says: "Are your pubes ginger too?" Harry replies: "Yes, they are," to laughter from the rest.

Later Harry, again wielding the camera, asks another member of the squad to talk through the exercise they have just done. He asks for "your ups and downs in the exercise. Highs and lows ... Good points, bad points." Off camera, he adds: "How do you feel? Gay? Queer on the side?"

Observer