HC Deb 30 April 1958 vol 587 cc359-61
19. Mr. Wigg

asked the Secretary of State for War whether he will make a statement on the recent acts of indiscipline committed by troops serving in the British Army of the Rhine, which resulted in the death of one soldier and severe injury to several others.

27. Mr. Bellenger

asked the Secretary of State for War what were the circumstances which contributed to the recent disturbances in which two British regiments in Germany were involved and which resulted in the death of a soldier and injuries to others.

28. Mr. Strachey

asked the Secretary of State for War to make a statement about the disturbance at Sennelager on 13th April involving men of The King's Regiment, Liverpool, and the Gloucestershire Regiment when a British soldier was killed and five other soldiers injured.

The Secretary of State for War (Mr. Christopher Soames)

The disturbance took place after duty hours at a camp where members of the Gloucestershire Regiment and the King's Regiment were being trained. On the evening of 13th April a party of men of the King's Regiment went to a barrack room occupied by the Gloucesters. A fight broke out in the course of which three soldiers of the Gloucestershire Regiment received wounds from which one of them has died. Four men were put under arrest. The circumstances have been investigated and a decision will shortly be taken as to the charges to be brought.

Mr. Wigg

I am very glad to hear from the Secretary of State that this was a very limited occurrence between two regiments. Will he also bear in mind that it gravely reflects on the state of discipline in the Rhine Army that such a thing should happen, involving the death of a soldier? Would it not have been far better if his Department had made an early announcement that it intended to set up a court of inquiry to inquire into the circumstances and to undertake disciplinary action, if such action were necessary?

Mr. Soames

I know the House will be very glad to know that this was a completely isolated, even though tragic, incident, which flared up from one second to the next. An announcement of the fact was made and the inquiry was set in motion. I hope that I shall soon be able to decide what charges should be brought.

Mr. Strachey

Does not the Secretary of State appreciate that we find it a little difficult to accept the view that this is an entirely isolated incident. There have been incidents from time to time in the Rhine Army. Is he not concerned to find out why the frequency of such incidents in this command seems to be greater than in others?

Mr. Soames

The number of courts-martial in B.A.O.R. in 1956, the last full year for which we have complete records, was fewer than in any other command.

20. Mr. Wigg

asked the Secretary of State for War to make a statement on his recent visit to the British Army of the Rhine, with particular reference to the operational efficiency and the state of discipline of units serving therein.

Mr. Soames

In the course of my tour I visited the Headquarters, British Army of the Rhine, the Headquarters of the British Corps, two brigade groups, and a number of units. I formed the opinion that the efficiency, readiness and general standard of discipline of our troops in Germany are of a very high standard.

Mr. Wigg

Had the Secretary of State for War read the Daily Telegraph leading article of 19th March before he made his trip—an article which stated that next to German units our brigades were beginning to look scruffy, that we were short of a tank with the capacity to travel long distances, that the War Office had broken its promise to introduce a replacement for the Vickers and that we were also short of an automatic rifle? Did he take those facts into account? If his trip enabled him to repudiate the statements which appeared in the Daily Telegraph, why does he not do something about it? After all, this is the chief organ of the Government. It is known to be very close to the Minister of Defence. In the interests of the British Army generally, and of the British Army of the Rhine in particular, is it not necessary at a very early stage to repudiate such statements that the units of this formation are scruffy?

Mr. Soames

The leading article to which the hon. Member refers, as I read it, did not mean scruffiness in terms of men or discipline or bearing. The article referred to the equipment of the British Army of the Rhine and compared it with that of the German army. Hon. Members must realise that the German army is a new army starting from scratch and obviously buying brand new equipment everywhere. In some respects, our equipment is bound to be lagging behind that of this new army, with its brand new equipment. The hon. Member mentioned tanks. The Centurion tank is widely acknowledged to be about the best tank in its field which exists in the world.

Mr. Lindsay

Does my right hon. Friend agree that these questions denigrating the Army come very badly from an hon. Member who himself has a good military record?

Mr. Strachey

Can the Secretary of State tell us anything about the re-equipment of the Rhine Army with the automatic rifle, and how that is proceeding?

Mr. Soames

That is another question, and I could not give an exact date.

Mr. Wigg

May I say, in reply to the hon. Member for Solihull (Mr. M. Lindsay), that he might have had the decency to read the Daily Telegraph leading article and to have realised that, in tabling this Question, I gave the Secretary of State for War the opportunity of repudiating the organ of the Conservative Party.