A sailor has been fined £300 and narrowly avoided a jail sentence - for having a cigarette on the deck of a Royal Navy warship. Leading Seaman Lee Harvey lit up on the HMS Defender air-defence Type 45 destroyer because his vape was broken and he was 'stressed' about not being able to afford a birthday present for his wife.
The 38-year-old father-of-three was caught smoking by a senior officer and told to put it out. As a result a court martial considered activating a previous suspended sentence of 21 days imprisonment for being unfit for duty due to alcohol in June last year.
LS Harvey admitted a single charge of contravening standing orders. HMS Defender is the fifth Type 45 or 'Daring-class' destroyer built for the Navy and was launched in 2009. It is based in Portsmouth, Hants.
Major James Eveleigh, prosecuting, told Bulford Military Court, Wilts, smoking had been banned on the warship since January 2021 - when the Armed Forces banned tobacco smoking from all its sites. Mr Eveleigh explained: "In November 2021, a Chief Petty Officer went to check the quarter deck after reports of food waste.
"He saw LS Harvey standing on the starboard side smoking a cigarette. LS Harvey was told to put the cigarette out and threw it overboard without a verbal response.
"The smoking was contrary to the ship's standing orders. In interview LS Harvey confirmed he was smoking and said he was feeling stressed that day. He decided to have a cigarette but knew there was no smoking allowed on board since January.
"The offence occurred whilst on operational deployment."
LS Harvey's lawyer, Laura Deuxberry, told the court he had resorted smoked the cigarette because his vape had broken and he was upset about not having given his wife a birthday present that day. Ms Deuxberry said: "In terms of his personal situation he has been struggling with his finances for a while.
"Vapes were allowed, but on the day of the smoking incident his vape was broken. Due to his financial situation he was unable to send his wife a present on her birthday, which was that day.
"It was as a coping mechanism that he smoked a cigarette. This was a lapse of judgement in a moment of stress."
Sentencing LS Harvey, who has served in the Navy for nine years, Judge Advocate Alistair McGrigor said: "You have pleaded guilty to a single charge of contravening standing orders - namely, smoking on the quarter deck which you knew was not permitted.
"By committing this offence you have placed yourself in danger of activating a previous suspended sentence. It appears to us you had a difficult relationship with alcohol. Nevertheless, we consider, smoking on the quarter deck does not require, in itself, a period of detention.
"You will be fined, and the suspension term will be increased to take into account your behaviour."
LS Harvey was fined £300 and his previous suspended sentence, imposed in August last year, was extended from 12 to 18 months.
