The British Ministry of Defence has released photos of some of the hoard of tanks a retired army officer got dishonestly from foreign donors.
Michael Whatley, a retired major in the Household Cavalry — the Queen's bodyguard — pled guilty on 13 August to three charges of misconduct in a public office. He was handed a suspended two-year sentence along with 150 hours of unpaid community work and ordered to pay £1,500 towards the costs of the prosecution.
The former officer claimed the vehicles were destined for exhibits at the Household Cavalry Museum, when in fact he sold them or traded them with fellow private tank collectors.
"You are a disgrace. You were a very distinguished man, a Major in one of the oldest regiments in the British Army", Judge Andrew Barnett told Whatley in passing the sentence. "You should be bitterly ashamed of your conduct. I don’t want to minimise the effect actions such as yours has upon public confidence in the army".
The conviction was the culmination of a "very complex investigation" by the Ministry of Defence Police (MDP) Crime Command involving "detailed collaboration with the authorities in a number of European countries", the unit's head Detective Superintendent Raffaele D’Orsi said.
"The guilty plea entered by Michael Whatley and the sentence of the court sends out a clear signal that misconduct by those holding trusted positions in public offices, especially within the MOD, will not be tolerated and will be pursued through the legal system, regardless of how protracted that process needs to be", D'Orsi said.