Douglas Chapman – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Douglas Chapman on 2015-10-27.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, whether the Fleet Ready Escort met the Russian Navy Research Vessel Yantar as it passed through UK waters; and what other assets were used to monitor the Yantar once inside the UK’s Exclusive Economic Zone.

Penny Mordaunt

The designated Fleet Ready Escort was not activated on this occasion, but remained available at high readiness. There are always a number of Royal Navy units available in UK waters at any one time and, if it is appropriate, one of those units could be reprioritised to undertake a required task. In this case, HMS Severn was better placed to respond, and it made the most operational sense for her to undertake this task.

I am withholding further details of our capabilities and programmes as disclosure would, or would be likely to, prejudice the capability, effectiveness or security of the Armed Forces.