Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the level of service provided by armed forces personnel on Christmas Eve in undertaking mass COVID-19 testing of lorry drivers in Kent to enable those drivers to cross the English Channel; and what plans they have to thank formally those personnel for that service.

Over the Christmas period, 800 service personnel deployed to Kent to provide COVID-19 testing for hauliers crossing the English Channel, including support to food and welfare distribution. To date, over 40,000 tests have been conducted, allowing thousands of freight vehicles to travel to France.

Defence is extremely grateful for the work of all its personnel involved in COVID-19 activity across the UK.