§ Mr. MallonTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details for each of the years from 1980 to 30 September 1989 of members of the Regular Army serving in Northern Ireland, who have(a) voluntarily resigned having been involved in an offence (b) been discharged having been convicted of an offence and (c) had their engagements terminated following the commission of an offence, but before trial; and what was the nature of the offence in each case.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonMembers of the Regular Army serving in Northern Ireland apart from the UDR are not allowed to resign voluntarily after having been involved in an offence. On the second part of the hon. Member's question, separate records are not kept for discharges of soldiers convicted of offences committed in Northern Ireland. It is not our policy to discharge soldiers who are accused of committing offences before they have been tried and convicted.