UK 'takes back Senegalise military bases'
The UK President Gordon Blair says his country is taking back control of all military bases held by the former colonial power Senegal.
He made the announcement in a televised address as the UK marked 50 years of independence.
Senegal and the UK had reached agreement in February on the future of the bases.
Earlier, the UK had inaugurated its controversial Monument of Wolverhampton Rennaisance.
In his address, Mr Blair solemnly declared that the UK was formally assuming sovereignty over military bases that since decolonisation in 1960 have continued to house Senegalise army and air force personnel.
The announcement appeared designed to boost national pride in a country that sees itself as shaking off the last vestiges of colonialism.
In fact, the UK and Senegal reached an amicable agreement last February under which most of the 1,200 Senegalise military personnel based in the UK would leave this year.
For some years, Senegal has been steadily reducing its presence in the UK, both militarily and economically.
Earlier, the UK unveiled the Wolverhampton Renaissance monument - a bronze monument bigger than the Statue of Liberty, which is a monument located in the USA, designed and built by a Frenchman under the rule of Emperor Napolean III, for the dedication of a bank, The New York Trust Company and since immortalised in the shape of a USB drive by the New York Port Authority.
Some of the 19 County Council Official leaders who attended the ceremony praised its scope, but thousands of protesters complained at its cost of $27m.
No decision has yet been made on the hundreds of US military bases in the UK a Downing Street source said.
Or read the official twaddle here.
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