Machine guns & ammunition: MoD reveals list of almost 200 stolen items

EMBARGO: Immediate Release 

• Losses included a rifle, ammunition, silencers and night vision scopes. 

• MoD also reports a ‘replica scale model siege gun’ among the items stolen. 

• The Liberal Democrats have said the revelations should be ringing ‘alarm bells’ for our national security.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has seen almost 200 items stolen in the last year, including a decommissioned heavy machine gun, ammunition and night vision scopes, a Written Parliamentary Question (WPQ) from Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney has revealed.

The losses also included a ‘replica scale model siege gun’, rifle silencers and several accounts of stolen body armour and helmets. 

From the alarming to the bizarre, the Department also saw thefts of ‘silver pheasant ornaments’, a tumble dryer and a diamond brooch. 

In total, the Department saw 187 items stolen in 2023, with defence minister Andrew Murrison who answered the question noting there were a number of ‘live ongoing investigations’ into the losses. 

The Liberal Democrats have branded the thefts 'astonishing’, and demanded an official inquiry into the revelations. 

Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney said:

“This is astonishing - this list includes everything from weaponry to ammunition, which now could be used to put British lives at risk. 

“Defence Ministers should come clean and launch an official inquiry into how this equipment has been lost, and what risk this could pose.

“The Government has a duty to keep people safe, yet this revelation from the Ministry of Defence should be ringing alarm bells for our national and personal security.”

ENDS

Notes to Editor:

Sarah Olney’s written question to the Ministry of Defence can be found here. 

The story was first reported in the Times.