§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the result is of his investigation into circumstances of the shooting incident at Knightsbridge Barracks involving a civilian, Mr. Rajko Novakovic; who(a) issued and (b) owned the firearm; how many soldiers were involved in the incident; how many civilian complaints concerning the improper use of firearms have been received in the past five years; what disciplinary action has been taken following the conviction of trooper Adam Everett by Horseferry Road magistrates; what ranks of officer have apologised to Mr. Novakovic; and when trooper Everett offered an apology. [89254]
§ Dr. MoonieThe investigation into the shooting incident at Knightsbridge Barracks leading to the conviction of Trooper Adam Everett was conducted by the civilian police.
An internal investigation was conducted into the storage security of the firearm. The matter of internal disciplinary or administrative action now lies with the chain of command, and this properly remains a private matter between Trooper Everett and the Army. The matter of the soldier issuing an apology is also a private one between him and Mr. Novakovic.
The figures relating to the number of complaints concerning the improper use of firearms received by the Service relate to the period 1 January 1998 to 31 December 2002. Worldwide, a total of 16 incidents of offences against the person involving firearms, where there was a civilian complainant and the suspect was a Service person (this includes dependants and United Kingdom based civilians), were reported to Service Police. You may also wish to be aware that, during the same time frame, there were 27 complaints made of similar incidents where the complainants were Service persons (this includes dependants and UK based civilians) and the suspect(s) civilian. These figures include incidents both inside and outside of barracks, but do not include incidents leading to an individual being charged or investigated for murder or attempted murder.