The Armed Forces (Service Inquiries) Regulations 2008

Offences

16.—(1) A person is guilty of an offence if he fails without reasonable excuse to do anything that he is required to do by a witness notice served upon him in accordance with regulation 14.

(2) A person is guilty of an offence if, during a service inquiry, he does anything that is intended to have the effect of—

(a) distorting or otherwise altering any evidence, document or other thing that is given, produced or provided to a service inquiry panel, or

(b) preventing any evidence, document or other thing from being given, produced or provided to a service inquiry panel,

or does anything that he knows or believes is likely to have such effect.

(3) A person is guilty of an offence if, during a service inquiry —

(a) he intentionally suppresses or conceals a document that is, and that he knows or believes to be, a relevant document, or

(b) he intentionally alters or destroys any such document.

(4) For the purposes of paragraph (3) a document is a “relevant document” if it is likely that the service inquiry panel would (if aware of its existence) wish to be provided with it.

(5) A person does not commit an offence under paragraph (2) or (3) by doing anything that he is authorised to do by the president or by virtue of regulation 13(5).

(6) An offence under any of paragraphs (1) to (3) is triable summarily by a civilian court in the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man or in a British overseas territory, and shall be punishable by a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.