§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Defence what is the total strength of the Ulster Defence Regiment.
§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many members of the Ulster Defence Regiment were formerly members of the Ulster Special Constabulary.
§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many members of the Ulster Defence Regiment have been dismissed the service on being convicted of criminal offences;
(2) how many members of the Ulster Defence Regiment have been convicted of arms offences.
§ Mr. JuddSince its formation in 1970, 22 members of the UDR have been dismissed on conviction for criminal offences, and of these five were convicted of arms offences.
§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many applicants have been refused admission to the Ulster Defence Regiment because of their involvement in political organisations.
§ Mr. JuddI regret that this information is not available.
A number of factors are involved in any decision to accept an applicant into the Ulster Defence Regiment. The figures for 1974 show that overall approximately 12 per cent. of applicants were rejected for a variety of reasons.
§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many weapons have been stolen from UDR armouries; and how many have been recovered.
§ Mr. JuddSince the formation of the UDR in 1970, 315 UDR weapons have been stolen from armouries, of which 299 have been recovered. These arms were stolen as a result of two raids, one at Lurgan in 1972 and the recent one at Magherafelt.
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§ Mr. Fittasked the Secretary of State for Defence whether investigations are still continuing into the theft recently of arms from a UDR armoury in County Derry.
§ Mr. JuddYes. I can therefore add nothing to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Defence for the Royal Air Force on 19th June.—[Vol. 893, c.522.]