§ Mr. Gerald HowarthTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much his Department has spent to date in support of former soldiers in connection with the Saville Inquiry; of that sum how much was attributable to lawyers' fees; and how much has been budgeted for 2001–02. [157559]
§ Mr. HoonThe total cost to date to the Ministry of Defence of supporting former and serving soldiers in connection with the Saville Inquiry is £9,600,428. Of this, £8,845,503 was attributable to payment to the legal teams, covering both fees and other related costs which have not been recorded separately.
The amount budgeted by the Ministry of Defence for payments to legal teams for 2001–2 comes to approximately £3.5 million.