Weapons among £½m of missing military items

The list itemises more than 270 thefts or missing goods since March last year which, between them, add up to more than £500,000 in value. Among the most serious items of kit recorded as either stolen or missing are “assorted military equipment, including weapons parts and communications equipment” totalling £40,000 in value. The most expensive single missing item is a set of telescopic rods worth £67,000, which are used by the military to rescue personnel.

Military equipment which appears on the list includes swords, bayonets, weapon sights, knives, body armour, helmets, rifle magazines, night vision systems and smoke grenades. Items used to support troops such as laptop computers – potentially containing Ministry of Defence material – cables, chainsaws, car parts, tools and radio equipment are also missing.

The list also includes household items such as microwave ovens, TVs, vacuum cleaners, and – in one case – a sit-on lawnmower valued at £1,000. Also reported is a £280 XBox console, “paintball equipment, including masks, guns and chargers” valued at £600, and £1,000 worth of morphine.

Military experts and politicians last night expressed astonishment at the value of the goods missing.

Shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy said: “Enough equipment has gone missing to mount a small coup. The public will be deeply concerned by a government losing equipment on this scale at the very time they are cutting troops and hardware.”

Clive Fairweather, a former senior army officer, said he found the list “extraordinary”. He said: “As a former battalion commander, if there was anything like a bayonet missing it would come to my attention and there would be a huge inquiry. If there was a rifle missing in a battalion, there would be a huge deal and heads would end up rolling.”