Sex attacks in Britain’s Armed Forces have increased by 35 per cent since 2016, it can be revealed.

The disclosure follows several high-profile cases involving alleged assaults on female personnel in recent months.

At least 153 investigations into claims of rape and sexual assault and other sex offences were launched by military cops last year, MoD figures show.

That was a rise of over a third on the figure of 104 just two years earlier.

Of 140 victims, 108 were female and 25 were male. The rest were undisclosed.

The figures show that more than 90 cases involved members of the Army, 31 the RAF and 22 the Royal Navy. Seven were classed as “joint Services”.

Between 2015 and 2018 the number of alleged rapes rose 50 per cent from 20 to 30, while the number of sexual assaults on women went up from 40 to 71.

A fifth of court martials are now linked to sexual assault, rape or child porn.

Emma Norton of human rights group Liberty called for sex attacks to be investigated by civilian police, saying the military was “woeful” at supporting victims.

Earlier this year six soldiers were held over the sexual assault of a teenage female colleague, behaviour Army head General Sir Mark Carleton-Smith described as “downright unacceptable”.

The MoD said: “Our initiatives include stepping up education programmes, reviewing internal disciplinary procedures and raising awareness of support.”

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