Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many lawyers are employed by his Department as of 14 November 2023.

The Ministry of Defence has of 14 November 2023 86 civilians employed as lawyers or intellectual property-qualified professionals and 211 military lawyers - inclusive of 26 Reservists - serving as members of the three Services' legal branches/capbadge.

The civilian total includes only 24 employees who are directly employed by the Ministry of Defence as either Patent Officers or as prosecutors with the Service Prosecution Authority; the other 62 are assigned/on-load from other Government Departments, principally the Government Legal Department, with whom they remain active employees.