UK government may have breached young soldier’s right to life, coroner concludes

Jaysley Beck had concerns about her line manager, Bdr Ryan Mason, who sent her thousands of messages. Photograph: Family Handout/PA

The UK government may have breached a young soldier’s right to life by failing to protect her from a sexual assault by a more senior colleague and from sustained unwelcome sexual attention from her line manager, a coroner has concluded.

Gunner Jaysley Beck, 19, killed herself after errors were made in the way the army investigated a sexual assault, which made her reluctant to report her boss when he later launched an “onslaught” against her, the coroner said.