Royal Navy warship leaves Portsmouth for Nato exercise near Russia

HMS Westminster leaves Portsmouth. Picture: PO Phot Dave Jenkins

A NAVAL frigate has set sail from Portsmouth to join Nato in reassuring European allies.

HMS Westminster set sail from Portsmouth Naval Base today, as she heads over to northern Europe and the Baltic region.

The ship’s company will be joining a Nato task group while visiting a number of ports in the area, reassuring allies and acting as a deterrent for potential adversaries.

Commander Will Paston, Westminster's commanding officer, said: ‘We have a ship’s company ho have recent experience of operating in the area, which is a great opportunity to train with our Nato allies and maintain close ties with our longstanding regional partners.’

Standing Nato Maritime Group 1 (SNMG1) will be led by Rear Admiral Edward Cashman of the US Navy.

The other two ships forming the task group are the German Rhön-class tanker FGS Spessart and the Polish frigate ORP General Kazimierz Pulaski.

In recent years Royal Navy ships have been used to escort Russian warships through the English Channel.