Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 28 March (HL6465), how many times British state vessels made incursions into Spanish territorial waters between 1 March 2017 and 28 February 2018.

Further to my written answer of 28 March 2018 (HL6465), the term ‘British State vessel’ is broad and could apply to any vessel which is acting on British State business. This includes a range of Government Department vessels, merchant vessels, Royal Navy vessels and other vessels registered under the various shipping registries that the Red Ensign covers, including those of the British Crown Dependencies and Overseas Territories. As such, Her Majesty’s Government does not hold a central record of the passages of British State vessels into Spanish Territorial Waters.