§ Mr. Stratton Millsasked the Minister of State for Defence if he will make a statement indicating the number of troops in Northern Ireland in each month in 1972; and if he will indicate the number of those who are stationed in the Belfast area.
§ Mr. BlakerThe number of Regular troops in Northern Ireland on the last day of each month was as follows:
January, 1972 13,993 February, 1972 14,362 March, 1972 14,650 April, 1972 14,948 May, 1972 14,019 June, 1972 14,831 July, 1972 21,507 August, 1972 20,030 September, 1972 19,623 October, 1972 18,456 It is not the practice to provide details of the deployment of our forces, which 313W must vary from time to time in the light of operational considerations, and which could be of assistance to terrorists and trouble makers.