Royal Navy escorts Russian ships through English Channel

A Royal Navy warship has escorted several Russian ships through the English Channel over the bank holiday weekend.

The HMS Mersey was called on to shadow the vessels as they passed through British waters.

The incident - described as "routine business" for the navy - is the fourth such incident in the past two months,

The Portsmouth-based patrol vessel was tasked to locate, monitor and escort intelligence ship Vasily Tatishchev and the depot ship PM82.

A Russian tug and the frigate Severomorsk were also shadowed. The Severomorsk was later handed over to fellow Navy ship HMS Iron Duke to be escorted out of the UK area of interest.

HMS Mersey is one of four River Class patrol ships, three of which conduct fishery protection, general patrols and other maritime security duties around the UK.

A fourth, HMS Clyde, is permanently deployed to the Falkland Islands.

In January a Royal Navy frigate closely shadowed a Russian warship which was sailing through British waters on its way back from Syria.

In April the navy kept a "vigilant watch" on two Russian warships as they passed through the English Channel.

And a month later navy warships shadowed a surfaced Russian submarine through the Strait of Dover.

RAF jets are also often scrambled to watch Russian military planes that fly close to UK airspace.

In February, Typhoons were deployed from Lossiemouth in Scotland and Coningsby in Lincolnshire to monitor two nuclear-capable Tupolev TU-160 Blackjack bombers