First female Navy commander leaves ship amid affair claim
Posted: Sat Jul 26, 2014 11:33 pmThe first female commander of a major Royal Navy warship is understood to have left her vessel after allegations of an affair with one of her officers.
Cdr Sarah West, 42, was coming to the end of a seven-month deployment on board the Type 23 frigate HMS Portland.
The Ministry of Defence would not confirm the claims but said she was currently on annual leave.
It said it was aware of a complaint of a breach of the code of social conduct on board the ship.
When she took up her post in May 2012, Cdr West said it was "definitely the highlight of my 16 years in the Royal Navy so far".
Cdr West had been on board HMS Portland since January on a deployment. The ship is currently in the Caribbean and is due to return to its base in Plymouth shortly.
It is not clear when Cdr West left the frigate.
