Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what the names are of the two Border Force cutters that he has recalled from the Mediterranean and Aegean seas; what their current locations are; and on what date they will arrive in the English Channel.

HMC Protector and HMC Seeker have been recalled to the English Channel.

All essential maintenance has been completed on the cutters and both are fully crewed. These vessels are designed and built to work around coastal areas rather than to undertake long distance open ocean deployments during adverse weather conditions.

For the crews to transit the Bay of Biscay during winter, especially during the current period of deep Atlantic pressures sweeping across and causing high swells (at times up to 14 metres), is a dangerous pursuit and one which must not be taken carelessly. The vessels therefore require a favourable weather window to return to the UK safely and securely.

The two cutters are expected to arrive in the coming weeks.