Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate has he made of the number of UK Icebreaker ships available to help tackle Russian threats in the Arctic.

The Royal Navy has the capability to project force using a variety of assets in the High North and Arctic, dependent on the location, season and threat, including Littoral capabilities. It has one purpose-built Ice Patrol Ship (HMS Protector) and two ice strengthened survey vessels (HMS Echo and HMS Enterprise).