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Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Key: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many military personnel have been (a) killed in action, (b) injured in action, (c) killed in vehicle accidents, (d) injured in vehicle accidents, (e) killed in sporting accidents and (f) murdered in each of the past five years; and how many committed suicide in each of those years. [179484] Mr. Caplin: In the period 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2003, there were 419 deaths among United Kingdom service personnel in the categories listed. Of these, 40 were killed in action, 275 died in vehicle accidents, seven died in sporting accidents, 12 died as a result of assaults and 85 were suicide or open verdict deaths recorded by a coroner (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or the Procurator Fiscal (Scotland). In this period, there were a further 30 deaths for which we are waiting a verdict. The findings of criminal trials is not routinely collected by the Ministry of Defence, so it is not possible to state how many of the 12 deaths by assault may have been due to murder. A breakdown of these deaths by year is provided as follows: Table A: Deaths in service personnel: 1999 to 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Causes or circumstances 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Total of death Killed in Action1 0 1 0 0 39 40 Vehicles accidents 47 53 56 66 53 275 (excluding killed in action) Sporting accidents 0 2 2 3 0 7 Assault 1 3 1 0 4 12 Suicide/Open verdicts 19 27 11 15 13 85 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. 1 Includes one road traffic accident death in 2003 classified as killed in action. During the period 1 January 1999 to 31 December 2003, 4,876 service personnel have been injured while on duty involving military vehicles. A breakdown of these injuries by year is provided in table B. Information on service personnel injured while off duty involving vehicles is not collected by the MOD. Information on injuries sustained in action is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Table B: On duty injuries in service personnel resulting from military vehicle accidents: 1999 to 2003 _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Vehicle accidents 1999 1,248 2000 964 2001 922 2002 904 2003 838 Total 4,876 _________________________________________________________________________________________________.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

179484; 423 c138-40W

Session

2003-04

Subjects

Armed forces Death Accidents Homicide Injuries Roads Sports Suicide

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk