§ Mr. CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement about the role and function of the special escort group of the Ministry of Defence police; how many personnel are assigned to it; and what is its annual budget.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe special escort group is an element within the MOD police responsible for those escort duties necessary to meet safety and security requirements when moves of sensitive material are made. Its costs are contained within the overall MDP budget. For security reasons it is not our policy to comment on numbers of personnel nor their methods of operation.