A former paratrooper has told a tribunal of his "shock" at the racial abuse he and another black colleague endured while in the Army which allegedly included soldiers who decorated their barracks with Nazi flags and pictures of Adolf Hitler.

Hani Gue, who describes himself as a black African of Ugandan nationality, joined the Army in October 2012 and was later assigned to the 3rd Battalion (3 Para) A Company.

He formally asked to leave in January 2018.

In his statement to a central London employment hearing Mr Gue said: "During the course of my employment I noticed that there were Nazi Confederate and SS flags and photographs of Hitler displayed in A Company's accommodation which is a stone's throw away from the Battalion headquarters."

He said he had to walk past this "on a regular basis" and then in October 2017 he spotted that members of 3 Para had posted a picture of themselves with Tommy Robinson of the English Defence League.

Mr Gue added: "It was clear to me at that point that racism was prevalent in 3 Para and A Company in particular.

"Things only got worse from there."

Mr Hue told the tribunal that this situation was "not a single incident but it happened several times".

Both Mr Gue and South African Lance Corporal Nkulueko Zulu have taken the Ministry of Defence to a tribunal alleging they suffered racial discrimination and harassment and the Army did not take reasonable steps to prevent it.

Mr Gue also noted that colleagues would often use a range of racial slurs.

He added in his statement: "This was all passed off as banter although I found it intimidating and offensive as a non-white person."

 

 

Mr Gue said he had wanted to join the Parachute Regiment in particular after being "inspired by the regiment's history of fighting the racist Nazi regime during World War II".

But Mr Gue added: "Unfortunately, my experiences of racial harassment and discrimination during the course of my employment have led me to realise that the Army is not the honourable institution I once thought it to be."

Mr Gue claims his experiences in A Company had "an extreme psychological impact" and even led to him changing his Muslim surname of Hassan for fear that it could make him more likely to face racism.

Mr Gue said he decided to leave the Army after his Kenya deployment, in which he allegedly heard members of 3 Para use a range of racist language against the locals.

Mr Hue also noted: "I was shocked that the racial abuse was not just directed at privates, but at NCOs too."

Under questioning from Simon Tibbitts, for the MoD, Mr Gue described Kenya as a "big wake up call" regarding his service career.

Mr Tibbitts said the alleged racist online post was taken "very seriously" by the Army, that it was promptly taken down and a Lance Corporal was eventually demoted.

Mr Tibbitts suggested the chain of command would be dealing with it seriously as "everyone knew this type of behaviour would not be accepted and that sanctions would be involved".

He noted that none of the senior officers said they had seen a Nazi flag and "there is a difference between a one-off photograph and Nazi flags hanging around the barracks".

Mr Gue also alleges that, after he told senior officers he was leaving the Army due to racism, 3 Para commanders recorded his motives for seeking discharge as "personal reasons" and for "perceived incidents", not racial abuse.

The hearing continues.