§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) if he will ask Guardsmen Hicks, Povey and Ray to make a further statement on the events in July 1989 in Suffield, Canada;
(2) if he will now arrange for Guardsmen Povey and Hicks to be interviewed over the accident in July 1989; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonWe have no plans at present to interview or take further statements from Guardsmen Hicks, Ray and Povey in connection with the accident at Batus in July 1989.
§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps have been taken by his Department to trace the origin of the munition that exploded in July 1989 in Suffield, Canada, causing the injuries suffered by Guardsmen Hicks, Povey and Ray.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe munition was identified in the report of the board of inquiry into this tragic incident as being of Canadian manufacture.
§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence why the proceedings of the board of inquiry into the accident during a training exercise in July 1989 at Suffield, Canada, are classified as restricted; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonMOD regulations require the originator of any document to give it security classification appropriate to its contents. The restricted classification of the board of inquiry's report is therefore a result of the judgment of the members of the board exercised at the time.
§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether guardsmen on the training exercise in July 1989 at Suffield, Canada, were properly briefed on the possibility of unexploded munitions; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonThe board of inquiry into this incident concluded that the men were properly briefed.
§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of the 25 June to the hon. Member for Walsall, North,Official Report, column 453, if he will state the name and rank of the senior officer in the Grenadier Guards who has made representations to him over Guardsmen Povey, Hicks and Ray.
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§ Mr. Archie HamiltonMajor General (Ret'd) B. C. Gordon Lennox CB MBE, the regimental lieutenant-colonel of the Grenadier Guards.
§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what insurance policies are taken out by his Department on soldiers involved in non-combat or non anti-terrorist activities.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonNone. Service men killed or injured are eligible for benefits under the armed forces pension scheme. Where death or injury is attributable to service they are also eligible for benefits under the Department of Social Security's war pensions scheme. Both these schemes are funded by the Exchequer. The Department has, however, arranged for service men to have access to various commercial insurance policies at advantageous premium rates; participation is a matter for the individuals concerned.
§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what steps he has taken to assure himself that the board of inquiry held in Canada after the accident in July 1989 at Suffield, examined all the relevant facts pertaining to his Department's responsibility for the safety of their employees.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonI refer the hon. member to the answer I gave my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Mr. Browne) on 21 June at columns347–48.
§ Mr. WinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his reply of 25 June to the hon. Member for Walsall, North,Official Report, column 453, if he will place in the Library a copy of the transcript of the interview with Lance Corporal Ray at Medicine Hat City hospital, Canada.
§ Mr. Archie HamiltonNo. The transcript in question forms part of the proceedings of the board of inquiry which investigated the accident at Batus in July 1989. Board of inquiry reports are confidential to the Ministry of Defence, and it is not the Ministry's practice to release them to outside parties.