Derek Thomas – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Derek Thomas on 2015-12-14.
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will offer military resources to assist with the refugee crisis (a) in Lesbos and (b) elsewhere.
Penny Mordaunt
The Ministry of Defence is already supporting the Home Office in its work with refugees. In the Mediterranean, Royal Navy medics and a Royal Marine force protection team are deployed on board the Border Force chartered vessel MV VOS Grace currently in the Aegean Sea, supporting the EU’s FRONTEX-led search and rescue operation. The Ministry of Defence has also supported HM Government’s Syrian Resettlement Programme through the provision of medical escorts on board some of the charter flights that recently brought Syrian refugees to the UK.
HMS ENTERPRISE is also deployed to the EU Naval Force operation in the Mediterranean tackling the migrant smugglers who profit from the perilous journeys made by migrants across the Central Mediterranean. Royal Navy assets operating in this operation and the earlier search and rescue operation in the summer, have rescued over 7,500 persons in the Mediterranean since May.
