Streeting 'sickened' by sex abuse claims at Army college

Warning: This article contains sexual language and details of sexual assault

Wes Streeting has said he is "absolutely sickened" by reports of rape and sexual abuse of young female recruits at the Army Foundation College (AFC) in Harrogate.

Four women told the BBC they were sexually assaulted and harassed while attending the North Yorkshire college, and described a culture of misogyny and sexual violence.

The defence secretary said he would be "looking in detail specifically at what's gone wrong at Harrogate, but also looking more broadly at how we lead a programme of culture change across our armed forces and across defence."

The Army said "unacceptable and criminal behaviour has absolutely no place in our armed forces" and urged victims and witnesses to come forward.

Calls for inquiry into Army teen college after reports of rape and abuse

AFC is the largest military training establishment for under-19s in the UK and it receives all the Army's 16-year-old recruits.

North Yorkshire Police told the BBC in a response to a Freedom of Information Act request it had received 16 reports of sexual offences linked to the college in the year to June, including allegations of exposure, voyeurism and sexual assault.