£700,000 of kit and cash stolen from MoD

A plane fuselage, a clarinet, helicopter parts and dozens of night vision goggles have been stolen from the Ministry of Defence in the past 10 months.

Junior defence minister Peter Luff revealed thieves took nearly £700,000 worth of cash and equipment since last May.

The crooks' haul ranged from medals and ceremonial swords to a ship anchor and Army issue ration packs.

Other loot included a bridge, a boat rudder, body armour, a water browser, guns, charity cash, computers, televisions, marker lights and a flag.

Nightvision goggles worth £49,000 were stolen, as well as two batches of night sights, together worth £88,000.

The single most expensive item taken was a helicopter rotor tuner worth £50,000, stolen last November.

The figures, which only cover items reported stolen in the UK - not goods taken abroad or which go unreported - were uncovered by Labour's Luciana Berger (Liverpool Wavertree) who tabled a written Parliamentary question asking for a breakdown of items worth £100 stolen from the MoD since the Government took office.

Mr Luff said: "The MoD Police (MDP) has actively promoted a number of crime reduction initiatives throughout the MoD.

"The MDP also have 81 defence community police officers who are trained crime reduction officers working in MoD establishments across the country.

"These officers provide an effective deterrent to potential criminals, by raising the awareness of staff, service personnel, service families and contractors."