§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men, regular and reserve, of the Special Air Service Regiment have taken part in training at Ashford training centre, Templar barracks, Kent; and upon which courses.
§ Mr. StanleyIt has been the practice of successive Governments not to comment on any aspects of the operations or training of special forces.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many civilians have trained at Her Majesty's training centre, Ashford over the past five years; and upon which courses.
§ Mr. StanleySome 200 civilians have attended a wide range of intelligence and security related courses at Templer barracks, Ashford in the past five years.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men and service women, respectively, have been trained specifically in interrogation methods annually at Ashford training centre, Templer barracks, Kent, over the past five years; and which services and units.
§ Mr. StanleySeventy-nine service men and one woman have been trained in interrogation methods at the joint services interrogation wing, Templer barracks, during the last five years. They are drawn predominately from the intelligence staffs at a variety of units of all three services, but the great majority are from the Army.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many service men and service women have been trained annually at Ashford training centre, Templer barracks, Kent; and on which courses and which services.
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§ Mr. StanleyTempler barracks, Ashford is the headquarters of the Intelligence Corps and therefore carries out a very wide range of training ranging from drill and basic training for new recruits to courses in various aspects of intelligence. On average each year there are about 125 courses of all types attended by some 3,000 service students. These students are drawn from all three services in the following broad proportions:
Per cent. Royal Navy* 13 Army 78 Royal Air Force 9 * Including Royal Marines
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence upon what criteria specialist groups are chosen to receive training at Ashford training centre, Templer barracks, Kent.
§ Mr. StanleyThose trained in resistance to interrogation are all volunteers from groups who would be most vulnerable to capture in time of war. The small number of personnel who are trained in interrogation techniques are drawn from those who would require these specialist skills in war.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many service men and service women, respectively, of the Ulster Defence Regiment, regular and reserve, have taken part in training at Ashford training centre, Templer barracks, Kent; and which courses over the past 10 years;
(2) how many members, men and women, respectively, of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, regular and reserve, have taken part in training at Ashford training centre, Templer barracks, Kent over the past five years.
§ Mr. StanleyNo UDR or RUC personnel have taken part in training at the joint service interrogation wing over the past 10 years. During that period 263 UDR officers and SNCOs have attended other courses at Templer barracks in various aspects of intelligence. No detailed breakdown is available of the split between full and part-time UDR members, but the great majority would have been permanent cadre officers or SNCOs. A small number of RUC officers have also attended some courses.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many policemen and policewomen and from which forces, over the past five years have trained at the military training centre at Ashford, Kent; and upon which courses.
§ Mr. StanleySix Ministry of Defence police have attended various security courses.
§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of foreign and Commonwealth armed forces have trained at the Ministry of Defence Ashford training centre, Kent, over the past five years; on which courses they trained; and from which countries they came.
§ Mr. StanleyIn the past five years some 500 members of foreign and Commonwealth armed forces have received training in various aspects of intelligence and security at Templer barracks, Ashford. In addition, about 50 such personnel each year receive training in resistance to interrogation. This training is only available to members 97W of the armed forces of NATO countries and other close allies. It is not our practice to list the specific countries to which we give particular types of training.