§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many UK troops will be transferred from East Timor to(a) Brunei and (b) the UK at the end of December. [103060]
§ Mr. HoonAll UK troops, with the exception of two UN Monitoring Observers, returned from East Timor before the end of December. A total of 284 troops were transferred from East Timor, with 46 returning to the UK 85W and 238 returning to Brunei. The withdrawal started on 8 December, following confirmation from the INTERFET Commander, Major-General Cosgrove, that their tasks were complete. The final contingent of Gurkhas arrived back in Brunei on 10 December and UK-based troops arrived home on 17 December.