Written question asked by Apsana Begum (Labour) on Wednesday, 15 July 2026, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 September 2026. It was answered by Calvin Bailey (Labour) on Wednesday, 2 September 2026 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

USA: Courts Martial

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, in how many cases have prosecuting powers been ceded from his Department to US military courts, in relation to prosecuting offences against serving US military personnel, for each year of the last decade.

Answer: The Visiting Forces Act (1952) sets out the legal basis in the UK for how jurisdiction for criminal offences is decided between the UK civil authorities and any NATO or designated non-NATO Visiting Force military court martial. This is implemented in practice by the independent police and Crown Prosecution Service, assessing the merits of each claim for jurisdiction by a Visiting Force in accordance with the domestic legislation. Any data on such cases would not be held centrally.

Secondary information