§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) how many members of the British armed forces have, since 1969, been convicted of murder or manslaughter while serving in Northern Ireland; and if he will give the name and date in each case;
(2) how many members of the British armed forces have been charged, since 1969, with murder or manslaughter while serving in Northern Ireland.
§ Mr. Freeman[holding answer 29 February 1988]: Since 1969, 23 members of the armed forces serving in Northern Ireland, including the UDR, have been convicted of murder. Five of these cases are currently the subject of appeals. A further 22 service men have been convicted of manslaughter. These figures cover offences involving negligent discharges of weapons where the victims were other soliders. It is not our policy to disclose details of individual cases.
Figures are not kept for cases where charges did not result in conviction.
§ Mr. MullinTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many serving British soldiers have, since 1969, been convicted of indictable offences while serving in Northern Ireland, giving the name and date in each case.
§ Mr. Freeman[holding answer 29 February 1988]: Records of numbers of service men convicted of all indictable offences in Northern Ireland since 1969 are not available. The table shows the number of offences for which service men have been convicted between 1982 and April this year.
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Offences 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 (to 30 April) Drunken Driving/Excess Alcohol 61 54 47 41 60 56 16 Causing Death by Reckless Driving 1 2 — 2 1 1 1 Obstruction 2 7 — 1 3 — — Furious Driving — — — 1 — — — Shoplifting — 8 — 2 — — — Misuse of Drugs — — 7 1 — — 1 Obscene Phone Calls — — — 5 — — — Failing to Give Information — — — 1 — — — Manufacturing Petrol Bombs — — 1 1 — 14 — Collecting Information — — — — 1 — 1 Member of a Proscribed Organisation — — — 1 — 4 —
Offences 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 Hoax bomb — — 1 — — — — Gross indecency — — — — — — — Diverting electricity illegally — 1 — — — — — Going equipped for stealing 1 1 — — — — — Arson — 1 — — — — — Hijacking 1 1 — — — 1 — Resisting arrest 2 1 — — — — — No television licence — — — — — 1 — Rape — — — — — 1 1 Breach of Exclusion Order — — — — — 5 — Offences against Domestic Proceedings Act — — — — — 2 — Miscellaneous non-criminal offences — — — — — — 1 Totals—offences for which service men convicted1 230 200 191 182 223 294 81 Service men convicted of above offences — — 110 106 147 161 61 Service men convicted of traffic offences — — 213 218 225 243 84 Total number of service men convicted — — 323 324 372 404 145 1 Less traffic offences.