§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what procedures enable soldiers to give confidential information to officers concerning suspicions of(a) paramilitary and (b) Nazi membership of fellow soldiers. [158570]
§ Mr. SpellarService policy is that membership of paramilitary or Nazi-type organisations is unacceptable. Any member of the armed forces who has a suspicion about an individual involved in such activities would have a duty to report it to the chain of command. Divisional or commanding officers take all such allegations very seriously and have a duty to investigate them and take appropriate action. In addition, in particular where criminal, disciplinary or security activity is suspected, an allegation may be made to either the Service police or security staff.
Each Service also operates a confidential helpline which would advise Service personnel of the correct course of action to take if, for any reason, they were uncertain what steps they should take in these circumstances.