HC Deb 20 December 1994 vol 251 cc1171-2W
Mr. Cox

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action his Department intends to take to protect the bodies of service personnel who are buried in public land from being exhumed without permission by war relic hunters; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Soames

Authority to protect sites where it is believed there are military remains is given to my right hon. and learned Friend the Secretary of State for Defence under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986. Licences to unearth or move any wreckage are not granted if there is any suspicion that human remains may lie at the site. Action against alleged offenders is a matter for the police and the Crown Prosecution Service.