Ministry of Defence written question – answered at on 21 February 2022.
Kieran Mullan
Conservative, Crewe and Nantwich
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps his Department is taking to support NATO allies in Eastern Europe.
James Heappey
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence
The UK continues to actively support its Allies on NATO's Eastern flank. On 10 February the Prime Minister announced a further uplift of UK Defence support to Eastern Allies, including doubling the number of UK troops in Estonia, deploying more RAF aircraft to Southern Europe, and deploying HMS Trent and a Type 45 Destroyer to the Eastern Mediterranean. A further 1,000 UK troops have been placed at readiness to support a humanitarian response in the region should one be required. This builds on a previous announcement to deploy up to 350 Royal Marines to Poland. The UK's commitment to European security is immovable and unconditional. We will continue to strengthen our collective deterrence and defence, whilst also pursuing opportunities for dialogue and de-escalation.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
