The Ministry of Defence has revealed the theft and loss of a range of defence assets, including decommissioned heavy machine guns and VIRTUS helmets.

This alarming disclosure came in response to a parliamentary written question posed by Sarah Olney, Liberal Democrat MP for Richmond Park.

“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the Answer of 18 December 2023 to Question 6863 on Ministry of Defence: Theft, what each of the (a) items of service equipment and (b) other defence assets were.”

Andrew Murrison, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the MoD, provided a comprehensive answer, highlighting the extent of the issue:

“The numbers of instances provided previously in Question 6863, in the table below, will have included both live and closed cases and therefore we can now only list those items for closed cases so as not to compromise live ongoing investigations.”

The list of stolen and lost items includes a wide range of equipment, both mundane and military-specific.

Some of the notable items mentioned in the answer are:

  • Dyson heaters
  • Multi Meters
  • General Service Respirator, Canisters, and Respirator Bag
  • Body armour and helmet
  • Virtus Helmet & Body Armour
  • Light bulb
  • Watt Bike Trainer Monitor
  • Bergen, MOD (A) issued VIRTUS scalable vest
  • Small Arms Protection Vest
  • Army Recruitment Gazebo
  • Flat Screen TV
  • Silver pheasant ornaments
  • MOD (A) issued VIRTUS Helmet, Scalable vest and ancillaries, MOD laptop
  • Pedal Cycle
  • MOD issued Tools
  • Ammunition
  • MOD ID Card
  • Electronic ear defence
  • Hawke Laser Range Finders
  • Daysacks Including MOD and Personal equipment
  • VIRTUS equipment
  • Webbing; vest; helmet; and bag
  • Alleged Loss of GSR
  • LED 40″ Smart TV
  • Respirator & Filter ACTO CAT 2
  • Fuel
  • CES Items
  • Replica Scale Model Siege Gun
  • X-Box Controllers
  • Detector Gas, Helmet Ground Troops, Endoscope Camera
  • Land Rover Tyre Rims
  • Alleged theft of Virtus daysack/VIRTUS helmet
  • Rifle, blank rounds and attachments
  • ACTO Small Arms Protection vest
  • Personal items/issued kit
  • Assault ladders, tent equipment, vehicle parts and uniform
  • Outboard motor and propellers
  • Body armour, helmet, empty magazines, scopes and silencer for a rifle
  • Apple iPad Pro21 and cash
  • Radio equipment
  • Office supplies and personal phone
  • MOD Issue Laptop
  • Field Pack Bergens and SILVA Compass
  • Ninja Foodi Max Air Fryer
  • Gym equipment
  • Ground Helmet
  • Issued Medals
  • Bowman Cable Assembly
  • Drills
  • Canbus Terminator
  • Peltor Ear Defence
  • White goods
  • Drill Rounds
  • Military Equipment
  • WRENCH TOQUE/RATCHET HANDLE & SLIDING T BAR
  • General Mechanic Tool Kit
  • MOD (A) Watt Bike
  • Toolbox
  • Baker Rifle
  • VIRTUS Bergan
  • Generator airlines from an MOD(A) issued mounted generator trailer
  • Decommissioned Heavy Machine Gun
  • VIRTUS daysack and laptop charger
  • Tools
  • MOD(A) binoculars
  • Exercise equipment
  • Altberg boots & Respirator
  • MOD issued UBAC and MOD issued MTP Trousers
  • Night Vision Scopes
  • Tumble dryer
  • MK7 helmet & VIRTUS shoulder pads
  • 50″ TV
  • Jackery Power bank
  • Diamond brooch
  • CES items
  • Medical bergens and collapsible stretchers
  • HMNVG’s
George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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47 COMMENTS

  2. How on earth does someone actually nick an Army Recruitment Gazebo? Was the recruitment team looking the other way?

  4. Most pretty much par for the course and letā€™s not forget the 20 litre jerrycans full of post exercise fuel šŸ˜‡

  5. The lists non exhaustive. Most of these have probably been lost within the supply chain. Team Leidos/Kuene & Nagel are quite good at mislaying MOD equipment.

    • Google
      SPECIFICATIONS FOR THE ADAPTATION OF SHOTGUN MAGAZINES AND THE DEACTIVATION OF FIREARMS. REVISED 2010

      and go to page 34

    • Bloody hard work apparently asked a retired tool maker come gunsmith, our ā€œworkshop Dadā€. Heā€™s a serious collector and before gunsmithing was a toolmaker at Colchester Lathes.

      Heā€™s reckons impossible if they sealed the bolt and carrier/removed and welded shut type deactivation. If they left it able to ā€œcycleā€ for display, itā€™s still considerable remanufacturing and if they done a good job of making it safe, at least a new bolt, bolt carrier and firing pin in the receiver, new gas tube if it has fed not recoil fed, probably new barrel mounting face as that would of been weakened and good chance a new feed tray if itā€™s an M2 apparently they deliberately buckle them to make a round pinch in the feed well. He reckons if a experienced gunsmith had a proper toolmaking workshop, had the drawings and previous knowledge of the actual type! They would get it live but no experienced gunsmith in the UK would reverse a legal deactivation without permission for a demonstrable museum piece.

    • No chance mate, all Mod mess / regimental display or ‘non standard firearms’ have to be deactivated to civilian standards and proof house certificated as such.

      That’s been the position for a few years now.

    • At one posting, the light bulb above my bed light failed. So the next day I took it out and visited the G10 stores in which to replace it one for one. (As you do) The civy clerk looked at me and stated, “Oh we no longer hand them out. we’ll give you a date to leave your room open and workmen will pop across and replace it.” I said fine, walked into the RQMSs office (drinking buddy) and gave him both barrels of my mind, I then reloaded and gave him another two. He simply walked into the store and came back with a few light bulbs and told me not to pester him again.

      • It’s a crazy world. I seem to remember reading some years back that a company that was responsible for maintenance of a housing estate charged Ā£50 for the privilege of carrying out the erroneous task to the local council.

  8. Most will be lost, left in a vehicle/ room when moving about, or just mislaid in a warehouse/ store.
    I once returned a load of Bowman kit to Bicester and to be honest after all the hassle I took in labelling it etc, they just took the paperwork signed it, returned my copy and the boxes of kit were just put on a pallet with all the other stuff being returned.

  15. Military tumble dryers are well known for lethality. Stuff always goes for a walk. The MP’s loved searching kitbags in 1982, think the haul was a few hundred bits including Argie Browning’s with ammo…..

    • Tumble dryers returned after OP Granby for use of Divers had more than a pair boxers in AK47s were found inside them whoops some Clearence divers won’t be getting their pensions the Crown didn’t take lightly too this ruined the Machines Garrentie

  16. What are the MOD doing with Xbox controllers? “The latest tech for controlling predator drones” is actually just some RAF squadron leaders’ kids at home thinking they are playing WarThunder?

  17. ā€œReplica Scale Model Siege Gunā€

    Who put that up their smock?

    Plus the ā€˜light bulbā€™, no wonder defence spending in stretched!

  18. A lot of these bullet points read like theyā€™ve been signed for and simply lost/left, no oneā€™s stealing a recruitment quickup good chance the recruiter carried it to the vehicle and didnā€™t throw it on. And I can tell you from experience that multimeter mention is behind a panel somewhere on the planet, I have lost and found plenty.

  19. Not as bad as the Chinese military. They apparently have drained off missile fuel for cooking… also aviation fuel all replaced with water. Solit rocket fuel is also nicked for cooking. The head of their rocket force was sacked and has not been seen since. Many now suspect the Chinese have large scale corruption in their military.

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