Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, for what reason records of Service personnel previously dismissed from the Armed Forces for reasons of sexual orientation were ordered to be destroyed in 2010; how fully that policy of destruction was implemented; and whether such reasons for dismissal would routinely be included in the Record of Service which each veteran would normally have received on leaving the Armed Forces.

In 2010 and 2011, most remaining investigative records concerning decriminalised sexual offences were destroyed in line with Ministry of Defence policy and data protection legislation. These records were deemed to have no further investigative value, and there was therefore no basis for further retaining them, particularly where records contain sensitive personal information.

The destruction was implemented as a general policy. It is not possible to establish an accurate statistic on the completeness of implementation. However, is it recognised that some relevant records were not destroyed.

Personnel Service records were not affected by the destruction of investigative records and remain intact. Whether reasons for dismissal were routinely included in the Record of Service provided to Veterans would depend on the specific practices at the time and may require further investigation.