No record of nurse's Army and charity experience

Tanya Nasir, 45, is accused of deliberately lying on application forms to gain a senior nursing position

A woman accused of lying about her nursing qualifications claimed to have worked in war zones for major charities, but none have any record of her, a jury has heard.

Cardiff Crown Court was told that Tanya Nasir claimed on her ward manager job application that she was an Army reservist working for Oxfam, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army in war zones, as well as having served in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The Army said she had never served as a regular or reserve soldier.

Ms Nasir, 45, from Rickmansworth, Hertfordshire, denies nine counts of fraud and fraud by false representation.

Ms Nasir allegedly gave false information when she applied for a job as a neonatal ward manager at the Princess of Wales Hospital

She began working as ward manager at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend in September 2019 and was suspended in February 2020 following concerns about her CV.

She resigned in November 2020, two days before a planned disciplinary hearing.

Ms Nasir was arrested by Dyfed-Powys Police at her home in Brecon, Powys, in spring 2021 and questioned by NHS counter-fraud investigators.

Interview transcripts were read in court in which investigator Neil Jones revealed that checks with Oxfam showed the defendant had never been deployed "in any capacity" with them.

He added that other charities confirmed she had neither worked nor volunteered for them overseas.

Mr Jones asked her: "What reasonable explanation would you give for all these organisations not being able to find you?”

Ms Nasir replied that there "must be a record somewhere".

When informed that checks on her medical records found no evidence of the vaccines required for travel to Iraq and Afghanistan, she said: "I can remember having some of those vaccines."

Regarding how she obtained visas for Iraq and Afghanistan, she said she could not remember, but said: "The embassies were all at Portland Square, they're all next to each other."

At one point during the interview, Mr Jones urged: "Just be honest."

Ms Nasir replied: "It's my life as I have lived it. There are things I can't remember. The fact there aren't records I can't explain, but it doesn't mean I didn't do it."

The court also heard Ms Nasir claimed to have held military ranks of captain and later major, stating she was authorised to do so by Army officers.

She used the ranks on application forms for the role at the Princess of Wales Hospital and for a post at the Hillingdon Hospital in London.

The court was also told a forensic examination of her hospital computer found four searches for fake certificates and diplomas.

Ms Nasir's credentials were used to access the computer on the day before a meeting with the paediatric matron at the Princess of Wales Hospital about her CV.

Asked by NHS fraud investigators why she accessed the sites, she said: "I guess I was looking at if what I had been accused of could be done."

Ms Nasir also sent a series of messages to other friends, including one where she expressed sadness about the death of L/Cpl Brodie Gillon in March 2020.

The 26-year-old was killed in a rocket attack in Baghdad and Ms Nasir told the friend she "trained her in Iraq".

Ms Nasir also claimed to have been part of the drug testing anti-doping team at the London 2012 Olympics.

She said she had been asked to help in the laboratory at Kings College in London by "a friend who was an athlete".

She rejected claims that her qualifications were false, saying: "If I was going to pretend to have qualifications, it would be for a better paid job than nursing."

The trial continues.