§ 68. Mr. William Priceasked the Secretary of State for Defence what part was played by the Royal Navy in covering the withdrawal of British forces from Aden.
§ Mr. Foley:A powerful Task Force of Royal Navy ships and Royal Fleet Auxiliaries was assembled off Aden from mid-October to provide protection, including naval air power, for the later stages of the withdrawal and to assist, if required, in the transport of British personnel. The force also provided various kinds of logistic support for the land forces. The Naval Task Force performed its role with the efficiency and despatch which is traditional in the Royal Navy.
The Royal Marines from the Task Force covered the final withdrawal on land and were the last of the British forces to leave Aden.
§ 83. Mr. Stratton Millsasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the equipment and buildings left behind by the Services in Southern Arabia and Aden; and if he will state their value.
§ Mr. Boyden:No. The work involved in preparing a detailed composite list would be out of all proportion to its usefulness.
§ 85. Mr. Ronald Bellasked the Secretary of State for Defence why £10 million worth of stores are being abandoned in the military quarters in Aden.
§ Mr. Boyden:I would refer the hon. Gentleman to the replies I gave to the hon. Member for Windsor (Sir C. MottRadclyffe) and the hon. and learned Member for Antrim, South (Sir Knox Cunningham) on 6th December which 135W indicated that very few stores will prove to have been abandoned.—[Vol. 755, c. 315–17.]
§ 91. Mr. Goodhartasked the Secretary of State for Defence what equipment was handed over to the army of the Republic of South Yemen on the evacuation of Aden.
§ Mr. Boyden:Certain items of equipment were included with installations handed over as "going concerns" as reported in Cmnd. 3442. These were handed over without charge. In addition other items were handed over on repayment to the Southern Yemen authorities.
§ 93. Sir Knox Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state the capital cost of the military capital assets which have been handed over by Her Majesty's Government to the People's Republic of South Yemen.
§ Mr. Boyden:I would refer the hon. Member to the reply I gave on 6th December, to the hon. Member for Windsor (Sir C. Mott-Radclyffe); the only valuation available is the depreciated value.—[Vol. 755, c.315.]
§ 94. Sir Knox Cunninghamasked the Secretary of State for Defence in what form and to what account payment was made for moveable equipment and stores sold by Her Majesty's Government during the preceding 12 months before evacuation of the area now named the People's Republic of South Yemen; and what was the amount of such sales and of the sales of ammunition to the South Yemen authorities, respectively.
§ Mr. Boyden:This information is not at present available.
§ Mr. Wallasked the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the military withdrawal from Aden.
§ Mr. Mason:The withdrawal of our forces from Aden was completed on the 29th November. The plan for withdrawal involved some 25,000 men and families of the armed forces, together with their stores and equipment, over a period of seven months. The last stages were covered by a naval task force, and the final withdrawal from a contracted perimeter was of men of 42 Commando, Royal Marines. The whole operation was 136W conducted with the greatest skill and efficiency by the three Services and we express our unstinted admiration of them and of their Commander-in-Chief.