§ Mr. Hancockasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the armed forces have been dismissed from the services or court martialled for homosexual acts in each of the last five years, by rank, and in which service.
§ Mr. FreemanThe information requested is as follows:
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1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 Royal Navy* Lieutenant Commander 1 — — — — Lieutenant — — 1 — — Chief Petty Officer 1 — — — — Petty Officer 2 2 1 1 — Leading Hand 4 2 2 — — Able Seaman or Other 4 11 3 3 1 * Relates to numbers dismissed by summary trial or court martial for homosexual acts and includes all convictions for gross indecency or indecent behaviour. Notes:
(a) The total number of naval personnel dismissed for homosexual activity in 1975 was 5; a breakdown by rank is not immediately available.
(b) Comparable figures in respect of the Royal Marines are not available.
1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant — — — — 1 Sergeant — 1 — — — Corporal — 2 — — — Senior Aircraftsman 1 2 1 1 1 Leading Aircraftsman — — — — 1 Numbers of rank for Army personnel dismissed from the services or court martialled for homosexual acts could be provided only at disproportionate cost. I refer the member to the answer I gave to the hon. Member for Islington, South and Finsbury (Mr. Smith) on 25 June 1986 at column 163–4 for figures for total numbers of court martials and total numbers of dismissals for homosexual acts.