Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, which Royal Navy vessel or vessels acted as the designated Fleet Ready Escort from 1 January to 8 March 2019.

There is always one Royal Navy ship that is designated as the Fleet Ready Escort (FRE), although there are always a number of Royal Navy units available in UK waters that could conduct this role depending on the tasking.

Three ships were designated as the FRE between 1 January 2019 to 8 March 2019. These were the Type 23 Frigates HMS NORTHUMBERLAND, HMS ST ALBANS and HMS SUTHERLAND.