Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to retain a permanent British garrison in continental Europe in response to recent events in the Crimea; and if he will make a statement. [193348]

Mr Philip Hammond, Secretary of State for Defence: In the 2010 strategic defence and security review, the Government took the decision to withdraw all forces from Germany by 2020 for reasons explained in that document. Basing all of the UK’s reaction forces together in the Salisbury plain training area allows them to train effectively together ahead of deployments. Retaining forces in Germany—or choosing to base them elsewhere in continental Europe—would not be effective or desirable in optimising force generation and preparedness. Recent events in Ukraine will be taken into consideration as part of the analysis informing the next national security strategy and strategic defence and security review.

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