Leadership style forces job change for Navy commander

The Navy commander, who was ordered off his ship at Gibraltar, has been told he will not be returned to his command of HMS Somerset.

Commander David Axon was accused of bullying and harassment after complaints were made by a male junior officer on the ship and a female member of the crew.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

Email(Required)

OptOut

From time to time, we will send you emails about selected products, events and services from Personnel Today and OHW+ - but you can choose to opt-out at any time. If you do not wish to receive these emails, please tick this box.

Name

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Δ

An investigation found that Axon’s leadership and management style fell “significantly short of the exemplary standards the Royal Navy requires of its commanding officers”.

HMS Somerset was returning from a tour of duty in the Gulf when Axon was ordered off and told to return home after the ship docked at Gibraltar.