HC Deb 31 January 1996 vol 270 cc756-7W
Mr. David Martin

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on military deployment to the former Yugoslavia. [13420]

Mr. Portillo

The deployment of British armed forces to the NATO-led peace implementation force, IFOR, in Bosnia is now complete.

By carefully matching the manpower required to the tasks which have emerged, we have been able to deploy a smaller number of troops than the estimate of over 13,000 reported in my statement to the House of 12 December 1995, Official Report, column 835. The actual figure is some 11,500. The United Kingdom's contribution remains, by a substantial margin, second only to that of the United States.

I shall keep the force level under review as planning develops for the reduction of IFOR numbers and the completion of its task. NATO is also reviewing the maritime and air forces required to support operations in the Adriatic theatre. Force levels can in any case be expected to fluctuate.