Chaplain who quit Royal Navy over porn wins £50,000
Pastor Dale Morgan
Chaplain who quit Royal Navy over porn wins £50,000*
By Richard Savill
(Filed: 19/09/2006)
A Royal Navy chaplain who protested that he was forced to leave two
warships because pornography was a "routine part of life" on board has
settled his compensation claim.
The Rev Mark Sharpe, 37, has agreed an undisclosed sum with the Ministry
of Defence, believed to be about £50,000.
The former police officer, from Tenbury Wells, Worcs, claimed sexual
harassment, and discrimination against the MoD on the grounds of
religious affiliation. The Navy admitted sexual harassment but denied
discrimination.
An employment tribunal in Exeter heard last week that the chaplain
started his six-week Initial Sea Training (IST) course on the assault
ship Albion in June 2004 but left after less than two weeks.
The father of four, who has been married for almost 20 years, said the
main reason was the constant use of hardcore pornography and talk about
sex among IST students.
He claimed that he was told to turn a blind eye. When he complained to
IST staff he said he was told, "you need to learn to live with it".
He joined the destroyer Manchester in September 2004, leaving three
weeks later after complaining of "offensive and illegal" pornographic
DVDs shown on board.
Mr Sharpe, who is now a rector, said last night: "This is a painful
victory because I had wanted to be a chaplain. I had to ask myself how
far I was prepared to go for what I believed in.
"This has been very stressful and has taken almost two years of arguing
and disagreeing. It has been hard for me and my family.
"Nobody should put up with things that are illegal and immoral. It is
clear that at an official level there is zero tolerance [of
pornography]. The challenge is how they live up to that aspiration."
The Navy denied condoning pornography and said it was not the true
reason for Mr Sharpe leaving. It said he was missing his wife and home
and raised his complaints about pornography only after deciding to leave
the service.