To ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what is his policy towards gifts sent by members of the public to British forces while engaged in service overseas;(2) how many sales there have been to civilians in the Falklands of the contents of gift parcels sent to British forces in the Gulf during Operation Granby; who took the decision to make such sales; what were the proceeds of such sales; and how were the proceeds applied.
The BFPO 3000 appeal produced a most generous response from the public. I announced the winding-up of the appeal on 28 March 1991 at columns 571–72, indicating that some residual items would be sent to service personnel in overseas locations other than the Gulf. Items were sent to the Falkland islands and were distributed to service personnel in the garrison. Some surplus remained. Rather than return or destroy them, the Department decided to sell them locally, raising over £2,000 for the Gulf trust.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many gift parcels were sent by members of the public to British forces serving in the Gulf during Operation Granby.
It is estimated that up to 190,000 parcels were sent in response to the BFPO 3000 appeal.