§ Mr. Harold Daviesasked the Minister of Defence what the total sum to be spent by West Germany on buying arms from the United Kingdom will be over the next four years; and what it has cost to date to maintain and equip British forces in Germany.
§ Mr. WatkinsonThis sum has not, as far as I know, been decided. An estimate of the total cost of equipping and maintaining the British forces in Germany is not available, but since the Federal Republic attained full sovereignty in May, 1955, the net amount which we have spent in deutschmarks on our forces there is the equivalent of about £165 million. This is the amount by which our expenditure has exceeded the payments received from the Federal Republic.