ARMY GUN RAID FEAR
TWO “lamb-cams” in mid and north Wales are live-streaming images of grazing sheep and lambs to promote Welsh meat in Denmark. DEMOLITION men found a cigarette packet from 1899 in a factory wall with the names of workers who built it 118 years ago in Gloucester. A TERROR alert has been raised after the Ministry of Defence admitted it hasn’t a clue how many people stray on to Army firing ranges.
Labour ex-Defence Minister Kevan Jones said the MoD must act to stop terrorists stealing weapons.
He asked Parliamentary questions on security at the ranges. But Defence Minister Tobias Ellwood replied that the information was not held at the MoD and would cost too much to collect anyway.
“This lax approach at a time of heightened terrorist threats is alarming,” said North Durham MP Mr Jones.
“If ministers want to prevent a tragic accident or even a theft of weapons, they need to get on top of this now.”
Last year the Unite union protested that removing look-out wardens from Army firing ranges to save money would put lives at risk.
Mr Ellwood also did not know whether there had been any prosecutions in the last two years for unauthorised entry to other military bases.
But he confirmed MoD police thwarted two attempts to get into sensitive sites used for nuclear weapons, early warning radar and stopovers for US bombers.
The MoD said: “We take security of the defence training estate and public safety extremely seriously. Anyone ignoring range safety restrictions is not only putting themselves at risk but will face prosecution.”