Major General is found guilty of fraudulently claiming nearly £50,000 to pay for his children’s private school fees
- Major General Nick Welch, 57, abused Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA)
- Sent 2 of his children to the £37,000-a-year Clayesmore School and £22,500-a-year Hanford School, both in Dorset
- Maj Gen Welch lied to Army that they were living in military quarters in London
- They in fact spent most time at their Dorset home, breaching allowance rules
A senior Army officer has been found guilty of claiming nearly £50,000 in allowances to pay for his children’s private boarding school fees.
Major General Nick Welch, 57, claimed £48,000 to send two of his children to the £37,000-a-year Clayesmore School and £22,500-a-year Hanford School, both in Dorset, Bulford Military Court heard.
The two-star general had applied for the allowance on the basis that both he and his wife lived in military quarters in London – and therefore were not close to children’s schools.
But they in fact spent most of their time at their £800,000 Dorset home.
Maj Gen Welch had denied fraud, saying he thought he satisfied the ‘underlying principles’ of the allowance rules as long as he and wife Charlotte, 54, ‘endeavoured to be together’.
He was today found to have abused the Continuity of Education Allowance (CEA) in claiming the cash.
Maj Gen Welch – who has a glittering career and an OBE – is the most senior officer to face a court martial since 1815, when a Lieutenant General was convicted during the Napoleonic wars.
More to follow on this breaking story…
Major General Nick Welch has been found guilty at Bulford Military Court of fraudulently claiming £48,000 in allowances to pay for his children’s boarding school fees
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