£2.1bn cost to remove British Army from Germany, Armed Forces Minister says 

The Armed Forces Minister has revealed the British Army's removal from Germany has cost £2.1bn.

In February last year, a flag-lowering ceremony marked the handover of the British Forces Germany (BFG) base in Bielefeld –  signifying the complete withdrawal of 20,000 troops in Germany, first announced by the Government in 2010.

But earlier last month, Germany was named as a destination for a Land Regional Hub under 'Future Soldier' – the British Army's modernisation plan.

• British military base handed back to Germany
• Future Soldier: What is the British Army being promised as part of modernisation plans?
• NATO's UK-led Allied Rapid Reaction Corps returns to Germany for warfighting drills

In a written question, Kevan Jones MP asked James Heappey "how much it has cost to remove the British Army footprint from Germany since 2010 to date".

In response, Mr Heappey said: "From 2010 to date, it has cost in the region of £2.1bn to remove the British Army footprint from Germany."

Watch: New 'Defence Global Hub' set to be created in Germany.

On the Army’s website, it states the 'Future Soldier' modernisation plan will include "having more troops positioned across the globe", with Land Regional Hubs "already established" in Germany, Kenya and Oman.

Last month, the Army established a new Defence Global Hub in Germany to preposition armour and equipment in continental Europe.

The UK was prompted to establish the hub due to tensions between NATO and Russia, with the US making similar decisions. 

Former US President Donald Trump said he was withdrawing more than 9,000 US troops from Germany in June last year.

However, earlier this year, President Joe Biden said the US would end its planned withdrawal from the country.