UK military starting Libya return

28 October 2011 Last updated at 15:47 ET

Philip Hammond said military personnel could be “immensely proud” of what they did in Libya

British military personnel are starting to return home from their Libyan mission after receiving congratulations from the defence secretary for a “job well done”.

Philip Hammond said the armed forces could be “immensely proud that their hard work has assured the liberty of the Libyan people”.

He was speaking on a visit to an Italy base from where RAF aircraft had flown.

The drawdown follows Nato’s decision to end its mission on 31 October.

Speaking at Gioia Del Colle airfield, Mr Hammond approved the immediate return of six Tornado GR4 jets to their base at RAF Mareham in Norfolk on Friday night.

The remaining UK air assets, including another 10 Tornado GR4s, two VC10 tankers, two E3D Sentry and one Sentinel surveillance aircraft, will return over the coming days.

HMS Liverpool is due to start its journey back to home waters over the weekend.

Mr Hammond said: “This is a job well done and we will be sending our crews home from tonight. I have given my personal thanks today to some of the aircrew and support personnel at Gioia del Colle.”

At its peak, the UK had 2,300 personnel, 32 aircraft and four ships committed to the campaign in Libya at a cost of £160m.

The UK has flown more than 3,000 sorties, more than 2,100 of which were strike sorties, successfully striking around 640 targets.

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