§ Mr. FraserTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many successful claims have been made against the Crown by service men under the Crown Proceedings Act since its amendment in 1986; how many such cases went to court; how many such cases were settled out of court; and what was the average legal costs to his Department for(a) cases taken to court, and (b) cases settled out of court.
§ Mr. FreemanSince the passage into law on 15 May 1987 of the Crown Proceedings (Armed Forces) Act 1987, a total of 12 claims have so far been concluded resulting in payments being made by the Ministry of Defence. All 12 cases were settled out of court, involving legal costs totalling £127. A further 10 claims have been settled on an ex-gratia basis arising from incidents during the period between 8 December 1986, when the Government announced their intention to repeal section 10 of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947, and 15 May 1987; and legal costs totalling £1,474 were incurred in respect of these 10 claims.