Enough equipment stolen from UK military for 'small coup': official

Items such as night vision goggles, pistols, field kits, boots, body armor, machinery and rations have gone missing around British military bases in the past year, and officials there say the disappearances are starting to add up.

"There's enough military equipment to launch a small coup," Luciana Berger, an MP, told The Guardian. "The list went on and on, and the one I asked for was restricted to those items worth more than £100, so it is likely that many other things were stolen.

"This list doesn't include military bases abroad either. I will be laying down another question about that."

Berger submitted an inquiry on stolen items to the House of Commons, and the resulting list — and the lack of security on bases it implies — shocked her. One of the items listed as stolen was the fuselage of an airplane.

The Ministry of Defense issued a statement on the equipment thefts and inquiry.

"Although a certain level of theft is therefore to be expected, it is far less than for a similar-sized population in a UK town," it said. "The MoD police ensures that all crime reported to it is fully investigated and over the last three years the level of theft it deals with has fallen by almost 20 percent."

Image via WikiMedia Commons.