Group of 15 soldiers jailed following court martial after staging sit-down protest during military parade: Troops complained they were being 'led by muppets'



Sixteen soldiers staged mutiny in front of 1,000 people



Soldiers complained of unpopular new captain and colour sergeant

Fifteen jailed and ringleader thrown out of army

Stepping onto the parade ground, the 16 soldiers were expected by top brass to display well-drilled military discipline.

But when the servicemen were ordered to stand to attention, the group instead staged an extraordinary mutiny by sitting down in front of 1,000 people.

As the sergeant major yelled at the disobedient troops, the members of the 1st Battalion the Yorkshire Regiment refused to end the rebellion.

Fifteen of the men involved were jailed and the ringleader booted out of the Army at Bulford Military Court (pictured)

The troops took part in the mass protest after complaining they were being 'led by muppets' by an unpopular new captain and colour sergeant.

Yesterday, 15 of the men involved were jailed and the ringleader booted out of the Army by a court martial in Bulford, Wiltshire. The 16th will be dealt with later.

Judge Alan Large said the soldiers had 'brought shame and embarrassment' on themselves, the regiment and the Army.

Each defendant pleaded guilty to disobeying a lawful command under the Armed Forces Act.

Colonel Clive Whitwham, prosecuting, said members of the battalion's recce platoon, who had fought against the Taliban in Afghanistan, had been seething at being badly managed and 'not appreciated'.



He said problems surfaced when their commanders got drunk before a 16-mile training march in freezing conditions in the Brecon Beacons, mid-Wales, last winter.

The troops were furious at finding the pair – named as Captain Stanton and second-in-command Sergeant Scott Dyson - sleeping off their hangovers at the finish line instead of greet their returning soldiers.

Members of the 1st Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment pictured in Southern Iraq in 2007

Tensions boiled over at the end of the Askari Thunder training exercise on the plains of Kenya on February 12, the court heard.

Shortly before a parade at the main British base, the 16 soldiers decided to protest against the 'grievances' they felt.

As they went through their drills, a ringleader shouted 'sit down' and the dissenters dropped to ground. Commanders ordered each man in turn to stand up but were ignored.

Col Whitwham said: 'There was a feeling they were not being appreciated, that they were not being well managed.

'The platoon was said to have worked well in Afghanistan. There was said to have been a perception that they had got a little too big for their boots.'

Jonathan Lynch, defending, said: 'This is not a case of inflated egos but a case of mismanagement.'

Corporal Anthony Brown, the ringleader, was ordered to serve 60 days in military detention and dismissed from the Army.

The soldier, who suffers from combat stress, had 'abused' his power, said the judge.

Lance Corporals Steven Tidesley and Miles Smith were also detained 60 days and reduced to the ranks.