Navy captain on leave after cabin ‘mentor session’ claims

A captain and former adviser to Boris Johnson is under investigation amid claims he inappropriately invited lone female sailors for mentoring sessions while commanding the Royal Navy’s newest aircraft carrier.

Captain Steve Higham, who until recently was in command on HMS Prince of Wales, is alleged to have left female sailors on board the ship feeling “uncomfortable” after sending them letters inviting them for the sessions.

He was previously a defence adviser to Johnson in Downing Street, and his leaving do on December 17, 2020, was one of the incidents named during the lockdown parties scandal. He is said to have been issued with a fine for it.

The captain is alleged to have invited the women into his private quarters for “mentoring”, according to The Sun, which first reported the claims.

A navy source told the newspaper: “There are suggestions he invited a number of female sailors into his cabin alone and this made them uncomfortable. He says the meetings were totally above board, that he was mentoring these sailors and offering career development, but it has raised some concerns.”

While mentoring sessions are common on ships, a navy source told The Times: “When a commanding officer invites you to do something, it’s implied that you’re going to do it [because of their seniority].

“It’s claimed that certain people felt a little bit uncomfortable by his approach. What’s being investigated is whether or not it was inappropriately managed by him. If it was, he shouldn’t have done that because that’s an abuse of power.”

Higham took command of the Prince of Wales in July last year on its maiden operational voyage to the Arctic, and gave up the role in May as planned. Captain Richard Hewitt is now in command of the aircraft carrier.

Complaints were made about his behaviour while the ship was still at sea, The Times understands. The navy was made aware of the complaints in May as Higham left.

He had been due for a rare double promotion from the rank of captain to assistant chief of the naval staff, the fourth most senior job in the admiralty, who is in charge of strategy and policy. His promotion was announced in the London Gazette but is now on hold “without prejudice” pending the outcome of the investigation.

He is now on “directed leave” while allegations that he behaved inappropriately are investigated. It is understood that he denies the claims.

A navy spokesman said: “An investigation is under way and it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”

It is believed that more than one complaint has been made about the captain’s approaches to female sailors. There are no suggestions any reports have been made to the police, or that any criminal activity has taken place.

HMS Prince of Wales is expected to be leading a Nato fleet in the Mediterranean for training for the summer.

It served as Nato’s command vessel during Exercise Cold Response, a drill involving 35,000 troops from 28 nations.

While at No 10, Higham was alleged to have been a regular attendee at events that broke lockdown rules banning indoor gatherings of two or more people from different households.

Johnson was said to have been at Higham’s leaving event “for a few minutes to thank him for his service” while a “small number of No 10 staff briefly said goodbye” in December 2020.