Former Red Arrow found with a stash of child abuse images avoids jail

Andrew Lloyd MBE was also an RAF combat veteran and a British Airways pilot.

Andrew Lloyd MBE is formerly known as Andrew Cubin.

One of Britain's most respected pilots and a former Red Arrows ace has avoided jail despite having a stash of vile child abuse photographs and movies. Andrew Lloyd MBE, 59, formerly known as Andrew Cubin, had an 'exceptional military record' during a 20-year career in the Royal Air Force and flew fighter jets on eighty-eight combat missions.

But the court, he was sacked as a British Airways pilot after admitting three counts of having indecent images of children - including forty-eight in the most severe category. During his sentencing hearing at Swindon Crown Court, prosecutor Robert Welling said police attended his earlier address, in Kings Meadow, Crudwell, near Malmsbury, Wiltshire, in February last year following a tip-off about two indecent images being uploaded to the internet.

Officers seized a laptop and hard drive at his home, and a forensic analysis revealed 48 Category A still and moving child sexual abuse images. 39 Category B still and moving images were also discovered, while ten Category C images were also found.

Lloyd told police officers during a custody interview that he was searching for images of his 14-year-old daughter, who died in his arms in 2016. He claimed that she had uploaded photographs of herself in her underwear at the request of a male online before her death.

But Mr Welling said his claims do not account for why he also collected indecent images of underage boys and why the photos had been kept in separate labelled folders on a hard drive. The court heard that during his career, when he was known as Andy “Cubes” Cubin, he flew in the Red Arrows and flew fighter jets on eighty-eight combat missions.

Defending, Nicholas Wragg said his client's 14-year-old daughter Hannah died despite his frantic attempts to save her life following an unexpected cardiac arrest in 2016. He said Wiltshire Air Ambulance had been called to the incident, but their medics could not save her.

Pilot Andy Cubin in front of a Hawker Hunter

Following Hannah's death, Lloyd, and his wife, who supported him in court from the public gallery, discovered several photographs - depicting their daughter in her underwear - on her mobile phone. Mr Wragg said a male on Instagram had requested the images.

The police were handed the phone, and no investigation took place. Mr Wragg said the defendant took it upon himself to go onto the internet to find the person who requested the images - but now accepts it was a "hopeless prospect". As part of his search for the male on the internet, he had entertained trading images of other children to find the person who received pictures of his daughter.

He said Lloyd flew fighter jets on eighty-eight combat missions whilst serving with the Royal Air Force and has been an air accident investigation expert witness. "He has seen some particularly awful things, child bodies and people who have come to an unfortunate end", Mr Wragg said.

He added that Lloyd has seen "many of his friends and colleagues die". Mr Wragg told the court that the press coverage around his conviction had a "profound" effect on him, and he has lost his job as a pilot with British Airways. He said Lloyd "lost so much in his life" and said the "intense media reporting" of the case resulted in his wife's car being keyed.

He said Lloyd, now of Wood Close, Windsor, Berkshire, has undertaken work with StopSo, which supplies specialist therapy to sex offenders. In a report, counsellor Amanda Burbage said he has complex PTSD because of his military service and the death of his daughter.

Mr Wragg said, "this would never have happened" had he not discovered the semi-nude images on Hannah's phone. He described his client as "intelligent, capable and extremely remorseful" and asked His Honour Judge Keith Cutler CBE to consider a community sentence rather than custody. He said Lloyd has undertaken "immense work" since he was arrested, including psycho-sexual counselling.

Judge Cutler CBE said his crimes are a "profoundly serious matter" and "rightly regarded as appalling and abhorrent in society". Describing his offending as "unique", he imposed a 36-month community order in which Lloyd must complete a sexual offending programme and twenty rehabilitation activity requirement days.

He said he accepted what the defence claims to explain how a man with an "impeccable" military background found himself in court. Judge Cutler said he got the defendant's "true remorse", and his likelihood of further offending is extremely low.

Sympathising Lloyd's losses, he added: "One thing you haven't lost is faithful support of your wife. This gives me hope for the future. Together you can go forward working with the probation services, with the counsellors; you can guarantee, I hope, that this will never happen again."

He also imposed a five-year sexual harm prevention order. The prohibitions will be set later but include the requirement that Lloyd does not remove his internet search history. He said the ruling would "reassure the public".