Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps were taken in response to six soldiers from 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment who reportedly tested positive for cocaine in May 2021 following their return from Kenya.

The Ministry of Defence has a policy of Compulsory Drug Testing (CDT) which is utilised to enforce the message that drug use is not acceptable within the Services. Drug taking is incompatible with military service and operational effectiveness.

I can confirm that during May 2021, a small number of soldiers from the 2nd Battalion the Mercian Regiment failed a compulsory drugs test. Under the terms of the Data Protection Act, it would be inappropriate to release information about the outcome of the action taken, however I can confirm that in cases such as this, the Chain of Command investigates each case of a positive CDT result in accordance with policy, and Service personnel caught taking drugs can expect to be discharged.