New Defence Secretary Pledges UK Support For NATO Missions

Britain’s new Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has warned that more fighting will be needed to defeat Islamic State.

His remarks came on day two of a meeting of NATO Defence Ministers in Brussels.

The UK is part of an international coalition assisting operations in Iraq and Syria, where a military offensive supported by NATO has reduced IS territory to a few pockets of resistance.

Earlier Williamson also gave details of additional support for European security missions.

He said the RAF will be sending four Typhoon jets to the NATO Southern Air Policing mission in Romania next summer.

The UK will also be stepping up its presence in the Western Balkans, where British troops are part of an EU peacekeeping mission in Bosnia & Herzegovina.

From next year Williamson said a Battalion will be held at high readiness to respond to any situation in the region.

“In the face of an increasingly assertive Russia, the UK has significantly stepped up its commitment to Europe”

NATO Defence Ministers are also poised to send an extra 3,000 troops to Afghanistan.

Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said the additional troops will not be serving in combat, but to train, advise and assist.