Soldiers caught t aking cocaine at Royal parade
AT LEAST three recruits were at the centre of a military police probe last night after apparently taking cocaine during an official ceremony honouring the Queen at their barracks.
The privates are believed to have taken the drug after it was brought into the Infantry Training Centre (ITC) at Catterick, North Yorkshire, by a relative.
Hundreds of junior troops were attending a Families’ Day parade at the barracks in November when suspicions were raised about the recruits’ behaviour.
A source told The Mail on Sunday last night: ‘The recruits were acting up during a ceremony where soldiers were swearing oaths of allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen. It was very embarrassing because a lot of families were present. The recruits were put through a Compulsory Drug Test and tested positive. They’re now being investigated by the Royal Military Police but have been allowed to remain in training.’
The Mail on Sunday revealed in October how recruits who take banned substances during basic training are being allowed to remain in the military. Top brass relaxed the rules because drug abuse is so rife among would-be soldiers that throwing out those who fail drug tests was decimating numbers at a time when the Army is desperately short of troops.
But the move was also slammed as ‘a weak and dangerous surrender’.
An MOD spokesman said last night: ‘Drug abuse is incompatible with military service, but in a very small number of exceptional circumstances where an uncharacteristic mistake is made by a young soldier, second chances may be considered.’