UK (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Jonathan Carley was fined £500 after admitting to impersonating a navy admiral without permission at a Remembrance Sunday event.
Jonathan Carley, 65, was convicted of wearing apparel or an invariant bearing His Majesty’s Forces’ hallmark without authorization.
Images of him during a Remembrance Sunday cortege in Llandudno showed him wearing the livery of one of the most elderly situations of the Royal Navy, together with a number of orders, including a Distinguished Service Order. This led to his arrest at his house in north Wales.
Carley appeared at Llandudno Adjudicators’ Court on Monday and was given a£ 500 fine,£ 85 in costs, and a £200 charge.
At the November form, he was spotted with the epaulettes and sleeve lace of a Rear Admiral, a two- star rank that’s among the loftiest in the Royal Navy.
Carley, an occupant of Harlech in Gwynedd, was spotted marching in conformation to the war keepsake, where he accredited before leaving after another person laid a wreath.
Both current and once service members raised enterprises.
The alleged Rear Admiral, the third-highest rank in the Royal Navy, had drawn suspicion from serving and retired troops after they noticed his sword and the uncommon Distinguished Service Order decoration.
“It’s one down from the Victoria Cross,”
Rear Admiral Dr Chris Parry said.
None of the senior ranks were scheduled to attend the ceremony, according to the Llandudno Town Council, which organized the Remembrance event.
Carley said to the police that although he had rear admiral rings added by a tailor, the navy uniform was actually given to him when he was in the cadets.
The prosecutor, James Neary, stated that Carley approached the organizers to introduce himself and wore medals for his service in Syria and Iraq at the “well attended” event.
“The defendant was allowed to lay a wreath. He did so, he saluted and stood among other dignitaries,”
Neary said.
Wearing a long formal fleece, shirt, and tie, Carley made a lonely appearance on the wharf.
He spoke only to affirm his name, age, and address and to say” shamefaced” as the charge against him was read audibly, keeping his head down and turning down from the line of journalists enrapping the press bench and public gallery.
Carley has formerly been penalized, according to his attorney.
“He is the author of his own misfortune,”
said Mark Haslam.
“He has been punished by being publicly humiliated. It is going to continue.”
Carley “set out to deceive” those present at the Llandudno ceremony on November 9, 2025, according to District Judge Gwyn Jones.
“It should have been a genuine opportunity to remember and think about the lives of all those who have served their country and their community,“
he said.
“Your actions totally disrespected all those who have fought.
It is a sad reflection upon you that you chose to do such a thing on such a difficult day for so many.”
Carley left the courtroom and remained with Haslam while he made a brief statement, refusing to respond to questions from the media.
Haslam said:
“My client would like to reiterate his apologies to all of those who have been affected by what he did. As we made clear in court, he is utterly remorseful and he accepts the sentence of the court.”
He admitted to authorities that he had sought “belonging and affirmation” during the interview.
Carley was charged with one offense: wearing a uniform and clothing having the regimental or other distinguishing mark of the military force, specifically the Royal Navy, without His Majesty’s consent while not serving in HM armed forces.
The court was informed that this is a violation of the Uniforms Act, which was passed in 1894.
In addition to teaching at some of the most prominent universities in the nation, including Eton, Cheltenham, and Shiplake College, Carley has previously been interviewed by newspapers about his time studying and rowing at Oxford and Harvard.
Carley was known to have taught politics and history at Cheltenham College from 1988 to 1992.
His name appeared in the London Gazette in 1991 as a member of the college’s Combined Cadet Force, suggesting that this was also his sole real encounter with the military.
What sentence did the court hand down in the case?
Jonathan Carley, 64, from Harlech, Gwynedd, entered a£ 500 fine,£ 85 in execution costs, and a £200 victim cargo at Llandudno Adjudicators’ Court on January 5, 2026, after contending guilty to impersonating a Royal Navy crewmate at a Remembrance Sunday event.
District Judge G. Jones described the offense as causing” great pain” to stagers’ families and a” sad reflection” on the quality of Remembrance Sunday, noting Carly’s purchase of the invariant online and his police admission of seeking” belonging and protestation.”
Carley wore fake crewmate button, DSO order, and Iraq/ Syria service orders during the November 9, 2025, wreath- laying in Llandudno, posing as Rear Admiral for Clwyd’s Lord Lieutenant; no jail time assessed despite the judge’s commination.
