Since April 1969 – for 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year – at least one UK ballistic missile submarine has been on patrol beneath the waves of the world’s oceans.
The service at Westminster Abbey aims to recognise the commitment of the Royal Navy in maintaining Operation Relentless – the longest mission in the history of the services.
Ahead of his sacking from the Cabinet, former defence secretary Gavin Williamson visited HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, in Scotland on Monday.
Accused of leaking a top-secret Government discussion on Huawei’s role in helping build Britain’s 5G network, which he denies, he toured HMS Vigilant, which carries the Trident nuclear missiles.
Speaking to reporters on board, he said: “Having that continuous nuclear deterrent, the word is deterrence and it is about delivering peace, it is delivering prosperity and it is delivering security.
“And that’s what it has been doing every single day it has been at sea.”
Noting how the submarine fleet is “literally going head-to-head with adversaries” in the North Atlantic, he said submariners take an “immense amount of risk on to their shoulders”.
“The submarine service has always, quite rightly, called itself the silent service,” he added.
“But I think it maybe just sometimes needs to be just a little bit less modest and talk about some of…
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