Stuart C. McDonald – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stuart C. McDonald on 2016-01-26.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what coordination he is undertaking with other EU member states on the deployment of military assets to rescue migrants and refugees at risk of drowning in the Mediterranean.

Penny Mordaunt

The Royal Navy is not currently involved in a Search and Rescue Mission in the Mediterranean. However, HMS Enterprise, which is currently deployed as part of the EU Naval Forces Operation in the Mediterranean, will coordinate with assets from other EU member states in order to respond to vessels in distress.

In addition, a Royal Marine force protection team is 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.

In total, the UK has rescued over 12,500 people in the Mediterranean.