Barracks that housed the Queen’s pallbearers were ridden with mould and dirty water 

Shameful conditions have been exposed in the barracks where the Army pallbearers who carried the Queen’s coffin stayed before her funeral.

Video obtained by The Mail on Sunday shows a ceiling covered in mold and dirty water running down the walls and stairs at Wellington Barracks in London.

Hundreds of soldiers who marched in the Queen’s funeral procession in September live on site, while the eight pallbearers from the Queen’s Company, 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards, who were hailed for their extraordinary composure, also attended. they stayed there the night before.

The video was recorded last month, but Army sources say the 19th-century barracks, located just 300 yards from Buckingham Palace, has been plagued by problems for months.

Video obtained by The Mail on Sunday shows a moldy ceiling and dirty water running down the walls and stairs at Wellington Barracks in London.

A guard, who asked not to be named, told The Mail on Sunday that soldiers enjoyed better-quality accommodation when they served in Iraq.

“I was honored to have a role in giving our Queen the send-off she deserved,” he said. “However, the public’s opinion of a well-trained guard is only half the story: we live in conditions that are not conducive to pests.”

The State Ministry revealed last month the appalling conditions of military housing and how sleeping bags were handed out to soldiers and their families whose properties had been without heat or hot water for weeks.

Our investigation led Defense Secretary Ben Wallace to intervene to address the crisis.

Shocking new figures this weekend reveal that Amey, a MoD maintenance contractor, has missed 10,535 rush repair appointments since April 2022, while fellow contractor Vivo missed 4,041 rush appointments.

Other data revealed that more than 44,000 Armed Forces personnel were housed in ‘Grade 4’ properties in 2021, the lowest rating given by the Ministry of Defence.

Shameful conditions have been exposed in the barracks where the Army pallbearers who carried the Queen’s coffin stayed before her funeral. Pictured: Soldiers from Squad 94 on September 8, 2022

The information was obtained by Labor Shadow Secretary of Defense John Healey.

“The Conservatives are reneging on fundamental promises we make to our Armed Forces,” he said.

“Ministers have appointed clumsy contractors who are incompetent on an industrial scale and are causing misery to service families and wasting taxpayers’ money. This is a slap in the face for those who serve our country.’

The squalid conditions at Wellington Barracks are particularly shameful given the pivotal role it played as the nerve center of Operation London Bridge, Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral plan.

On the conditions at Wellington Barracks, the Defense Ministry said: “While 95 per cent of this type of accommodation meets the decent housing standard, we are spending more than £1.6 billion over the next decade to make improvements and build new houses”.

The spokesperson added: “It is completely unacceptable that some of our staff and their families are not receiving the level of accommodation services they deserve.”

Amey apologized to “anyone experiencing undue delays” and said it was working with the MoD and other vendors “to address the challenges.”

Vivo said: “Two-thirds of the appointments over the nine months to December where we arrived outside of a family’s one-hour slot were due to an IT issue in June, which was resolved.”