Guest pizel - Use the Freedom Of Information Act to establish the facts.

If true it must have involved hundreds if not thousands of soldiers. Too many "actors" to maintain secrecy.

The thing you want to enquire about, having looked at the most likely units involved having discovered who was where (Falklands, BAOR & Northern Ireland will tell you which units were serving at home and where they were based - did this "soldier" tell you what Regiment or Corps he served in? Extremely suspect if he did not.), should be their pay records if there are unnaturally excessive amounts being paid in what was called "Local Ration Allowance" (Subsistance Allowance) then you have proof that troops who should have been in Barracks in the UK being billetted and fed off base without any reasonable explanation - such costs cannot be hidden, and they most certainly would have to have been paid.

Other things that can be looked into - transport (no military transport could have been used) - their clothing and equipment would have to have come from somewhere, so who supplied it??, thousands of extra jackets, trousers, batons, riot shields and helmets??

At the time UK armed forces did not have batons of any description in "Aid to Civil Power" we were issued with trenching tool handles roughly 12" to 18" long if that. "Look at the length of the batons" he said?? What about their footwear - their boots??

My gut instinct tells me your "squaddie" was shooting you a line.