Prime Minister praises the UK's 'brilliant Armed Forces' in special Christmas message

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has praised the "brilliant" Armed Forces in a special Christmas message.

Almost 7,000 troops are spending Christmas deployed overseas and the Prime Minister made sure to highlight the hard work military personnel are putting in across the globe.

"In a dangerous world, I've seen how you're working alongside our allies around the clock for the good of us all," Mr Sunak said.

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The Prime Minister spoke of his first-hand experiences observing the Armed Forces, and acknowledged that they do "much much more". 

Mr Sunak recently visited military personnel at RAF Lossiemouth where he paid tribute to the men and women from all three services who are giving up time with their families over the festive period to be on duty.

He chatted with aircrew, ground crew and support staff during his visit to the base, which is one of two RAF Quick Reaction Alert stations that protect UK airspace.

In October, Mr Sunak became the first prime minister in decades to stay overnight on a Royal Navy vessel, as he travelled to Sweden for a security summit.

He got a taste of Navy life as he spent a night aboard HMS Diamond ahead of the Joint Expeditionary Force summit on the island of Gotland.

The Prime Minister concluded his message by saying: "I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."