£6,000 Of Viagra Stolen From Military Stocks

Nearly £6,000 of Viagra has been stolen from military reserves since 2007, according to Government figures.

The anti-impotence pills are among £7m of stolen stock, which also includes 100 bayonets, thousands of rounds of ammunition, televisions, a karaoke rig and an industrial washing machine.

The Ministry of Defence was quick to point out that Viagra was also used for conditions such as low blood pressure and altitude sickness.

Also among the thefts is equipment from nuclear submarines, £7,000 of silver cutlery from Redford Cavalry and Infantry Barracks near Edinburgh and a £25,000 silver statue from the Household Cavalry barracks in Knightsbridge.

The figures were disclosed by the MoD in response to a written parliamentary question from Conservative MP Nick de Bois.

Defence minister Dr Andrew Murrison told The Times newspaper: "The Ministry of Defence takes detecting and deterring fraud and theft seriously and set up a new counter fraud and loss department last year to improve the way fraud and theft is managed across defence ...

"The focus of this new department's work is to secure reduced losses caused by fraud, theft and loss, increased recovery through civil and internal procedures and the improved protection of assets through increased target hardening."

The thefts were significantly greater between 2009 and 2010 with £2.5m of equipment going missing, while just £816,906 worth of kit vanished between 2012 and 2013.

Since April 2013, £572,549 of military stock has been misappropriated.

The figures were released following the case of Sergeant Major Steven Barratt, who was last week jailed for 20 months for trying to sell £115,000 of Army night vision kit on eBay.

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