A CAPTAIN relieved of duty after being accused of bullying on his ship is expected to be put through an extended anti-discrimination course, naval sources revealed this weekend.

The programme is one of the sanctions against Captain David Axon, who was last week relieved of his command of the frigate HMS Somerset after a three-month tour of Iraq.

According to the sources, Axon had “lost the plot” and abused officers. His behaviour is said to have included regularly dressing down officers in front of other staff and ordering them to do menial tasks when they were tired.

Axon, 46, who had a reputation at fleet headquarters for an abrasive style, is said to have become increasingly brutal towards his crew.

“The power of being a captain went to this man’s head and he simply lost the plot as far as man management is concerned,” said a Royal Navy source close to the inquiry.

The matter came to light when a junior officer made a formal complaint to HMS Somerset’s headquarters in Portsmouth. The officer, who remains anonymous, waited until the ship was returning from its tour before writing on behalf of crew members who had received abuse.

“All credit should be given to this officer for making this formal complaint against his own captain,” said the navy source.

The investigation began after Admiral Sir Alan West, the head of the navy, had ordered a “zero tolerance” approach to bullying in his service.

West has styled himself a moderniser and targeted the improvement of working conditions aboard ships as well as training all officers in equal opportunities legislation.

Under the law verbal abuse is an actionable offence even when it is not racial or sexual. In this case, naval investigators deemed the offence administrative rather than disciplinary.

Axon was ordered off the ship when it docked in Gibraltar and was last week told he would be given a desk job and relieved of his command.

A Royal Navy spokesman said that it had made an example of Axon. “Let’s hope this stops others from adopting that sort of style because it is simply unnecessary.”

One former naval officer said the case represented a sea-change in navy management style. “Everyone accepts that a bloody good bollocking is sometimes necessary, particularly if there is a safety issue. In this case it went further and what might have gone unreported in the old days has been treated as unacceptable.”

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