The British Army’s senior ranks are ‘full of middle-aged white guys’, admits top commander 

The British Army’s senior ranks are ‘full of middle-aged white guys but they’re not all toffs’, says top commander who also believes the military ‘should do a lot better’ at tackling racism

  • Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch has said the top brass are ‘not all toffs’
  • However, he added that the army ‘should be doing a lot better’ on diversity 
  • He compared the top ranking officials to a typical FTSE 200 British company 

The Army’s senior ranks are ‘full of middle-aged white guys’, a top commander has admitted.

But Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch said top brass are ‘not all toffs’. He added the Army was becoming more diverse but ‘should be doing a lot better’ at tackling racism.

His comments came after soldiers were banned from ‘taking the knee’ to support Black Lives Matter because it was deemed too political.

Lieutenant General Tyrone Urch, pictured, has said that while the British Army is becoming more diverse, it ‘should be doing a lot better’ at tackling the issue of racism

General Sir Nick Carter (Chief of the Defence Staff), Admiral Sir Philip Jones (First Sea Lord), General Mark Carleton-Smith (Chief of the General Staff), Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier (Chief of the Air Staff) and Queen Elizabeth II attend the ceremonial welcome at Horse Guards Parade in 2018

General Sir Nick Carter (Chief of the Defence Staff), Admiral Sir Philip Jones (First Sea Lord), General Mark Carleton-Smith (Chief of the General Staff), Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Hillier (Chief of the Air Staff) and Queen Elizabeth II attend the ceremonial welcome at Horse Guards Parade in 2018

Lt Gen Urch, who was in charge of the military response to the coronavirus, told Soldier magazine: ‘While the Army board is full of middle-aged white guys, they are not all toffs who went to public school, they have diverse backgrounds. It will not be long before it is even more diverse.’

Those on the board include the head of the Army and other senior personnel – including one woman. 

Lt Gen Urch added: ‘If you compare the Army board to that of a typical FTSE 200 British company they are pretty similar.

‘So we shouldn’t beat ourselves up that we are uniquely bad, because we’re not. However we should be doing a lot better.’ 

Lt Gen Urch, who went to the £5,000-a-term Warminster School, said about 17 per cent of recruits were now from ethnic minority backgrounds.

Police officers in London take the knee as a sign of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protesters during a march in the city. Soldiers in the British Army have been banned from taking the knee during the national anthem because the act was deemed too political

Police officers in London take the knee as a sign of solidarity with the Black Lives Matter protesters during a march in the city. Soldiers in the British Army have been banned from taking the knee during the national anthem because the act was deemed too political

Pictured: Members of the army work at a coronavirus testing station set up in Victoria Park in Leicester, England, Tuesday June 30, 2020

Pictured: Members of the army work at a coronavirus testing station set up in Victoria Park in Leicester, England, Tuesday June 30, 2020

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