Turning to the facts of the case; this is a relatively simple case of possession of a prohibited firearm and ammunition on or about the 16th day of September when those items were found in the possession of the individual where they were located at his Substitute Single Service Accommodation. How did it come about? Unrelated matters in relation to another serving individual were reported to the civilian police force and those matters need not trouble you greatly here. Suffice it to say that they were nothing to do with this accused. What that led to, though, was a search of two premises, one belonging to the other accused and then a search of the Substitute Single Service Accommodation, which is the accommodation in Hereford, 7 Claypond Road, and that accommodation was shared by the both Servicemen. During that search the items that are detailed in the charges at Charges 1 and 2 were recovered. The search was recovered lawfully and the items at Charge 2 were found in a plastic box under the bed, an administration box which had pens and pencils and all the like in as well as the ammunition, and the item which is the subject of Charge 1, the Glock Pistol, was found in the wardrobe, in the top shelf area if you like of the wardrobe in a black case that it comes in.
The black hand gun was accompanied with three magazines and it was examined, as is required in charges of this nature, by a forensic expert on firearms, and it was found to be an Austrian manufactured Glock Model 19 Self-Loading Pistol bearing serial number FZF745 designed to discharge 9mm bulleted cartridges loading from a spring-operated box type magazine, had a barrel length of approximately 9.8 cms and overall length of approximately
20.8 cms. In fair condition due to the level of wear on the black finish and was in working order and it was recovered in the hard plastic Pelican case along with three x 15 shot double-stat spring-operated box type magazines. Each of the magazines was suitable use with the pistol. The forensic expert confirmed that the Glock Pistol constituted a firearm for the purposes of section 57 of The Firearms Act and that it was a prohibited weapon for the purpose of section 5(1)(aba) of The Firearms Act 1968.
Not that it need trouble the members of the board greatly indeed what these items look like, but for ease of reference I have prepared photographic supplements which I will now hand up your honour.
Both individuals were deployed on operations while these searches were taking place and liaison as ever is affected between police forces with a view to identifying whether anything more sinister had taken place other than perhaps you might view the improper possession of these items, and it was quickly identified that nothing more sinister, and it is only fair for the Crown to point out that nothing more sinister was identified in any shape or form, these items were in the possession of the accused in the first instance lawfully, but then of course as you will all well appreciate from your own service there are ways and means these matters must be dealt with and they become unlawful in your possession after that. But following that liaison the individuals were returned from operations to be interviewed after caution. And indeed following their return, given that this was essentially a military matter and the military nexus was such that this is a matter which could more properly dealt with by the military authorities, the matter was transferred quite properly from the civilian authorities through the Military Police and hence to the Service Prosecuting Authority and hence it finds its way to this court as opposed to any other.
Two interviews were conducted, one in September 2011 when Sergeant Nightingale was interviewed by West Mercia Police, and in that interview he spoke freely, accepted that the items were his and were in his personal belongings, accepted that he had brought the pistol back on the conclusion of operations in Iraq in 2007, and accepted that the ammunition he had retained in the course of his duties as a Training Officer in the Training Squadron and that he had not effectively handed them in appropriately because his administration was poor and poor working practices.
In the interview he gave a full explanation to West Mercia Police saying that he was given the Glock as a present by local nationals with whom he had worked whilst deployed on operations there. It was his intention that at the time to have the pistol deactivated and mounted as a souvenir for his squadron when he left the unit. He said he had not been intending to keep the item in its present form, wished to have it decommissioned but had never got around to it. He said the ammunition found in his bedroom in the SSSA was there because he had not also got around to handing that in. He had been incredibly busy whilst in his unit, as you will be able to imagine I have no doubt, with a very full round of duties, but he did accept that he could have handed the matters back into the amnesty boxes which are posted around the unit and he had time to do so. He also accepted that he knew that if there was a requirement for a trophy, if you like, or a pistol which has been handed to him, that there were procedures which should be followed in order to deactivate that weapon in accordance with the normal procedures and paperwork that would be required. Again I have no doubt that from your own knowledge you will be familiar with the procedures that must be followed to that way.
JUDGE ADVOCATE: Well Colonel I wonder perhaps if you can help me. It is a long time since I was in the Services but what is the procedure now with regard to bringing back items that would otherwise be trophies? I am sure there is a formal procedure.
COL BARNETT: There is your honour. There is a Land Forces Standing Order and this is reproduced in unit orders, and the Land Forces Standing Order deals with what are called non-service weapons, and those are weapons which have not been issued to an individual in relation to their service, and it makes it quite clear that those weapons, which can be more than trophies, they can be other weapons which people may have, hunting rifles and the like, that they must be secured in proper armouries or the like, arms kotes, basically in lockable storage facilities and then there is an application procedure in order to deactivate the weapon and have it registered and dealt with in accordance with that Land Forces Standing Order. I make it clear at this stage that there are no special arrangements for this unit. The arrangements are identical for this unit as they are for any other unit as you will well appreciate. So I hope that assists, but also the Unit Standing Orders state that the fundamental principle for the security of arms and ammunition/explosives is when they are outside secure stores they are never to be left unattended or in the care of unauthorised persons or taken home in any circumstances, and that when they are no longer required they are to be taken---
JUDGE ADVOCATE: Sorry, can you just read that last but again please?
COL BARNETT: Indeed. Unit Standing Orders specifically states supervision of army, ammunition and explosives. The fundamental principle for the security of arms, ammunition and explosives that when they are outside secure stores they are never to be left unattended or in the care of unauthorised persons or taken home in any circumstances.
JUDGE ADVOCATE: Yes.
COL BARNETT: It was also accepted, your honour, that Sergeant Nightingale did not have any authority to hold this pistol and no authority was given to him.
COL BARNETT: In relation to the declarations required. Members are required to deal with ammunition in the normal way and that they are expected to provide declarations when leaving firing areas and ranges, but there is an amnesty procedure and matters which do inadvertently end up in the possession of individuals can be put into the amnesty box, i.e. things like ammunition.
Whilst the ammunition was retained from various training serials at differing times, Sergeant Nightingale in his interview has accepted that he brought the pistol back in 2007 from Iraq, and it remained with his kit, he brought it back in his gorilla box. I think it only fair to say that you will appreciate whilst there are some formal procedures that may well have prevented this in a mainstream move back on a VC10 of the like, this came back in military kit and then was kept with Sergeant Nightingale’s military possessions firstly in the Sergeants’ Mess and then subsequently when he moved in January 2011 in triple SA accommodation and not within those formal procedures where it ought to have been retained.
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