Six years after the Celtic League alleged there was a conspiracy of silence by the British Army over the extent of drug taking in the ranks it has been admitted that the Service is losing the equivalent of a battalion a year because of drug addiction.
The Royal United Services Institute has said the number of positive tests for illegal drugs, like ecstasy and heroin, rose from 517 in 2003 to 769 last year. Positive tests for cocaine use rose four-fold during the same period. A dishonourable discharge is likely after a positive test for illegal drug use.
The Celtic League has long criticised the British army for recruiting young people from deprived areas and when they test positive for drugs dumping them back into those communities to further compound social problems. In recent years some nationalist politicians in Wales and Scotland have echoed our concerns.
The British Ministry of Defence (MoD) has never been open about the extent of drug taking which became endemic throughout the 1970s and 1980s. Indeed concerns that British troops undertaking so-called peacekeeping duties in Northern Ireland during this period used drugs whilst on duty do not seem so fanciful now!
Recently there have also been allegations that the MOD have gerrymandered testing procedures to mask the problem. It seems the cover-up culture still pervades the upper echelons of the MoD.
See also related articles on Celtic News at:
(voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site) (voir le site)
J B Moffatt Director of Information Celtic League
14/12/07
■