§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for Defence how many cases of theft there have been from ordnance depots, indicating for each case the date of the theft, the depot or factory involved, the equipment or arms stolen and its value over the past five years to the most current date.
§ Mr. PattieThe information requested is not held in the precise form specified and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. However, the losses through theft from ordnance depots in the United Kingdom are as follows, but it must be borne in mind that the inventory to which these thefts relate is valued at over £2 billion, with an annual turnover of some £1.85 million.
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Number of Cases Value £ Equipment Date 1982–83 Bicester 15 463 Various Various 1 638 Clothing February 1982 1 417 Clothing GS (theft in transmit) August 1982 1 166 Gloves (theft in transmit) March 1983 1 111 Smocks (theft in transmit) March 1983 Donnington 14 477 Various Various 1 123 Camera body September 1982 Hilton 3 124 Various (theft in transit) Various RD Catterick 1 56 Seven cans diesel oil August 1982 38 2,575 1983–84 Bicester 19 349 Various Various 1 1,509 White sweaters August 1983 Donnington 4 276 Various Various Longtown 1 195 Tool crimping August 1983 1 119 Instructional fuze September 1983 Ludgershall 1 41 — Not known 27 2,489 Total 125 70,558 Note: Losses Valued at £ or less have been lumped together.