Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what information his Department holds on the number of US military firearms (a) lost and (b) stolen in the UK.

While there may be a public interest in disclosing the number of losses and thefts, doing so would, or would be likely to prejudice capability, effectiveness of security arrangements, or the security of the US Visiting Forces. For these reasons it would not be appropriate to disclose this information. We have well established process which ensure all incidents are thoroughly investigated in partnership with the Ministry of Defence Police and/or Home Office Police Forces as appropriate.