§ Mr. Alfred Morrisasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many soldiers of the 14th/18th King's Hussars have been charged with drugs-related offences; what are their names and ranks; when they were charged; when the cases are expected to be heard; and with what specific offences each has been charged.
§ Mr. StanleySix soldiers of the 14th/18th King's Hussars were charged with the illegal possession of a controlled drug on 21 May: Lance Corporals Kirby and 335W Parkinson and Troopers Kershaw, Everett, Bickerton and Headon. Two other soldiers, Troopers Hobson and Buchanan, were similarly charged on 26 June. All eight soldiers were tried by court martial on 11 and 12 July. Three other soldiers were charged with the use of a controlled drug on 17 July, and are expected to be tried by court martial at the end of July or in early August. Their names have not yet been posted by the Army. I shall write to the hon. Member when this takes place.
§ Mrs. Peacockasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the number of British armed forces personnel convicted on drugs charges in each of the last three years; and how many of these were previously employed in key security or defence posts.
§ Mr. StanleyThe number of British armed forces personnel convicted in military and civilian proceedings on drug-related offences in the years in question is as follows:
Number 1981 235 1982 145 1983 251 These figures do not include convictions of Naval personnel in civilian courts for which records are not held centrally.
Records are also not readily available to indicate precisely the numbers of convicted service men who were previously employed during their service careers in particularly sensitive posts, but they would be a very small fraction of the total.