31.  A British spokesman said his government would pick up the costs of a departure ceremony in Central on the evening of the handover.

32.  A British spokesman welcomed the fact that the commission had shown its willingness to propose an easing of the ban.

33.  A British military spokesman said paratroopers from the United Kingdom would join US Marines in patrolling the vicinity of Kabul from mid-January.

34.  A British spokesman in Brussels said London was still reviewing whether it could accept a revised framework with no promise on exports to non-EU countries.

35.  A British spokesman argued that if the EU accepted that UK citizens could eat British beef, there was no reason to prevent other countries from importing it.

36.  A British spokesman said London had not expected the gelatin ban to be lifted.

37.  Another British spokesman, Major Guy Richardson, said Berlin was expected to clear the way Sunday for the first German soldiers, expected to arrive here on Tuesday.

38.  British Prime Minister John Major Tuesday promised visiting Polish counterpart Waldemar Pawlak to significantly increase British export credit guarantees for Poland, a British spokesman said.

39.  British spokesman Major Bill Cochrane said the Moscow branch had previously been accused of being paramilitary because members wear uniforms and hold ranks.

40.  British spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Ben Curry said coalition forces had recovered an arms cache as Operation Condor moved into its seventh day.