26 May 2023 , 14:01
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Two machine guns and nearly 2,000 rounds of ammunition have been lost by the Ministry of Defence in the last two years, shock figures have revealed.
The Government department admitted lethal weapons and bullets vanished in 2021 and 2022.
Asked to come clean about guns and ammo misplaced, the MoD owned up to losing two general purpose machine guns - GPMGs, known as Gimpys - one deactivated AK47 assault rifle and two Glock pistols.
The Army’s website says: “The L7A2 GPMG is a 7.62mm x 51mm belt-fed general purpose machine gun which can be used as a light weapon and in a sustained fire (SF) role.
“In the SF role, mounted on a tripod and fitted with the C2 optical sight, it is fired by a two-man team who are grouped in a specialist machine gun platoon to provide battalion-level fire support.
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A Glock 17 was among the weapons lost (Getty Images/iStockphoto)“In SF mode, the GPMG, with a two-man crew, lays down 750 rounds-per-minute at ranges up to 1,800 metres.”
The Glocks lost by the department were a G17, which has been the Army’s standard-issue sidearm for the last 10 years, and a G43.
Meanwhile, two SA80 rifles used by cadets were stolen.
The Army’s website says the SA80s are “the most reliable weapons of their type in the world”.
It adds: “This reliability is combined with accuracy, versatility and ergonomic design.
“It is considered a first-class weapon system and world leader in small arms.”
Following freedom of information requests, the MoD also laid bare the number of rounds lost over the past two years.
They included 1,051, 5.56mm bullets fired by the Army’s regular-issue SA80 rifles; 724, 7.62mm bullets loaded into machine guns and “sharpshooter” rifles; and 157, 9mm bullets for pistols.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey told the Mirror: “The first duty of any government is to keep people safe, so ministers have serious questions to answer on how these weapons and ammunition have gone missing from MoD bases, and who’s got them now.
Shadow Defence Secretary John Healey said ministers had questions to answer (Ian Vogler / Daily Mirror)“At a time when external threats are rising, ministers must sort out security inside the MoD to ensure UK equipment doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.”
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Answering the information request, the ministry said: “The MoD works hard to detect and deter theft and there are robust processes in place to raise awareness of the need for vigilance in all aspects of security.
“Just as theft occurs in wider society, the MoD is not immune, and we actively encourage individuals to report any evidence of loss or suspicion of theft.
“It is important to note that in some cases of reported theft the property is later recovered.
“In the case of key assets however, MoD sites have a wide range of additional security measures to ensure their safety.”
An MoD spokesman said: “We take the security of defence assets very seriously and have robust procedures to deter and prevent losses and thefts.
“In some cases of reported theft, the property is later recovered.
“If any items are reported lost or missing due to suspected criminal activity, we will take the necessary steps to investigate and prosecute.”
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