Press Releases
Lt-Gen Jonathon Riley
18th September 2020
CLUES
Command and Leadership Under Extreme Stress
Ex-soldiers Bring Front-line Training to the Boardroom
Inspired by the lack of leadership displayed around the world over the last 6 months, a group of ex-soldiers have decided to take their learnings from war to a different type of battlefield – The City. Alongside the Producers of award-winning film Kajaki – The True Story (also known in the US as Kilo Two Bravo), the one-day course for corporate and government audiences uses different situations from the film to create a dynamic, immersive, and inspiring training session that has received much acclaim during its beta-testing. Command and Leadership Under Extreme Stress (CLUES) is in your face training”, says Paul Katis, the Director of Kajaki.
31st August 2020
A clean slate after five years
But should soldiers escape prosecution for torture?
In the criminal law of England and Wales, there is no general statute of limitations. People accused of serious offences may be tried years — indeed decades — later. There are exceptions for summary offences — ones that may be tried only in the magistrates’ court. For these, a summons must be requested within six months. Prosecutors also have only six months to bring proceedings for some summary motoring offences and animal welfare offences. More broadly, a prosecution may be thrown out as an abuse of process if there has been deliberate or inordinate delay. But the most recent reform removed an outdated restriction: parliament’s approach in recent years has been to extend the criminal law rather than limit it.
A presumption against prosecution Until now.
The government’s Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill, introduced in March but not yet debated in parliament, would set a time limit of five years for some prosecutions of serving or former members of the armed forces who were deployed on overseas operations...
Original comment from Veterans for Britain directors submitted to the Sunday Times
Co-signed by:
Lieutenant-General Jonathon Riley CB DSO,
Major-General Julian Thompson CB OBE,
Major-General Tim Cross CBE,
Colonel Richard Kemp CBE.
With the NATO summit on Tuesday, we are obliged to consider what a Corbyn premiership would do to that alliance and the defence of our country:
We have seven principal concerns:
1. Mr Corbyn has been a friend of our country’s enemies: whether it is Hamas or the IRA. He has also made weak statements over how he would have dealt with the murderous Isis leader.
2. Trident fence-sitter: He initially said he would do away with our deterrent. He now dithers about the use of the deterrent, which gives a dangerous invitation to hostile actors. This is in spite of his party guaranteeing not to ditch it.
3. Economy crasher: unfunded public spending would be a risk to every department including defence.
4. Morale wrecker: the wrong messages from politicians can affect performance and ravage recruitment and retention. If the Armed Forces see that their political leader prioritises the human rights of terrorists over the UK national interest, this will have a significant effect. We expect our forces to be prepared to lay down their lives for the national interest. Forces know if this dedication to country is not respected or even understood.
5. NATO-opposer: For a long-time Mr Corbyn has questioned and scorned the NATO alliance which has kept us safe for 70 years. He has been disapproving of the American alliance and the US shield. He would also damage intelligence relationship with the Five Eyes countries, all of which provide vital life-saving intelligence to us, but will inevitably review their intelligence-sharing policies with a potential Corbyn government. Mr Corbyn would also amend intelligence sharing policy to prevent UK agencies receiving some material the US.
6. EU-panderer: Mr Corbyn continues to appoint people to his team who are apologists for the EU’s new European Defence Union. This dangerous project duplicates and detracts from NATO and if Mr Corbyn’s allies kept us in the EU, this would erode UK defence autonomy. It also has no strategic basis and it is not credible for European defence to be dislocate the US.
7. Policy ditherer: when politics required decisive statements from Mr Corbyn over Russia’s murderous poisonings on UK soil and over the Iran tanker fiasco, they were not forthcoming. As in so many areas, Mr Corbyn is a defence policy ditherer.
Caernarfon Museum Honours Royal Welchmen’s First World War Sacrifice
The Royal Welch Fusiliers Museum at Caernarfon Castle has launched a unique research facility in honour of those who lost their lives in the First World War. The new research database is hosted on the Museum’s web-site and is split between those who made the ultimate sacrifice (the Faces of the Fallen) and those who served and survived the war (“All that is left of them”).
PRESS RELEASE - Ex military chiefs back Trump’s attack on Nato
July 15 2018
NINE of Britain’s most distinguished former military commanders have openly backed President Trump’s attack on Nato spending and accused Europe of being “a free rider on US defence for far too long”.
Top Brass Included: Former Commander of Joint Forces Command, General Sir Richard Barrons, Vice Admiral Sir Jeremy Blackham, former Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff, Air Field Marshal Sir Michael Graydon, former Chief of the Air Staff, Rear Admiral Roger LaneNott, former Flag Officer Submarines, Lt General Jonathon Riley, former GOC British Forces Iraq and Deputy Commander ISAF, Afghanistan and Major General Julian Thompson Royal Marines, commander of 3 Commando during the Falklands conflict.
July 2018
An Answer to President Trump & A Message to the Prime Minister
"We, the undersigned, have all held senior commands, including fighting commands, across the spectrum in Her Majesty’s Service. We believe that President Trump asks a valid question and that he deserves a serious reply...
July 6 2016
Mametz Wood and the 38th: 'What dark convulsed cacophony' by Lt-Gen Riley
In the first of two written documentaries, Lieutenant-General Jonathon Riley describes the events leading up to and during the battle...
July 7 2016
On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the battle of Mametz Wood the first major offensive of World War One for many Welsh soldiers - memorial services are being held across the country. Article by Lt-Gen Jonathon Riley
July 7 2016
Acts of commemoration and reconciliation have been held for the Welsh soldiers who died during the battle of Mametz Wood in northern France 100 years ago... see BBC News article »
PRESS RELEASE - "In Parenthesis" - March 2016
"The cast has been drilled with help from the military: Lt-General Jonathon Riley no less. There’s endearing singing and acting from the American tenor Andrew Bidlack as the hapless but inspired Private Ball; George Humphries, Marcus Farnesworth and Donald Maxwell are first-rate as his fellow squaddies and officers." The Telegraph »
'Just spectacular' - People are full of praise for Cardiff's 'sea of poppies'
Glowing red, a total of 923 illuminated poppies shone on Friday evening outside the Wales Millennium Centre as it hosted the world premiere of the Welsh National Opera’s (WNO) production In Parenthesis... Wales Online »
PRESS RELEASE - "Marketing Excellence" - February 2016
Libraries, museums and archives across Wales scoop national awards for marketing excellence.
Museum, archive and library staff from across Wales have attended a prestigious awards event in the National Library of Wales today (Friday 26 February). The Marketing Excellence Awards recognise the fantastic work being done by staff in museums, archives and libraries across Wales, often with very limited resources.
Over forty entries were submitted to this year’s Marketing Excellence Awards from libraries, museums and archive services across Wales. Categories include: demonstrating marketing excellence; joint marketing project of the year and marketing champion of the year.
North Wales’ winners included: Royal Welsh Fusiliers Museum, Denbighshire Libraries, Grŵp Llandrillo Menai, Anglesey Archives and National Trust – Erddig.
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