Britain’s Royal Military Police have launched a probe into at least three soldiers from the Army Air Corps (AAC) for posting racist memes, including one of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, in a WhatsApp group.
According to a UK news outlet, apart from the mocked-up photo of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding day, other doctored images showed the head of a black man on that of the Archbishop of Canterbury and a black man’s forearm bearing the description “truck drivers’ suntan competition winner”.
The outlet cited an unnamed military source as saying that “the pictures and captions being shared in the [WhatsApp] group were moronic. They don’t realize how offensive this sort of material is to black troops.”
The remarks came as a UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson stressed that “there is no place in the Armed Forces for any form of racist view or behavior” and that “any activity which falls short of the high standards of the Armed Forces is unacceptable.”
“We are aware of offensive comments and images posted by service personnel on a WhatsApp group. These are being investigated by the Army so it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time,” the spokesperson added.
A Hereford-based AAC unit is tasked with operating helicopters that support the UK’s special forces units stationed in the area and elsewhere in Britain. If the three AAC soldiers’ misconduct is proven, they will most likely face disciplinary action, including discharge from the forces, according to British media.
The developments follow two London Metropolitan Police officers being fired in July for posting offensive messages in a WhatsApp group chat, including a racist joke about Meghan Markle.
A tribunal decided at the time that “abhorrent and discriminatory” actions by police constables Sukhdev Jeer and Paul Hefford, who worked in a unit at Bethnal Green police station in east London, amounted to gross misconduct.