© Sergey Smolentsev/REUTERS
HMS Defender, seen here arriving at the Black Sea port of Odessa
HMS Defender, seen here arriving at the Black Sea port of Odessa
The Foreign Secretary warned in advance that Moscow could seek to exploit HMS Defender's voyage through the Black Sea under the route proposed by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace, it is understood.
Defence sources claimed the decision was escalated to Downing Street for the Prime Minister to make the final call. Instructions were passed to the Type-45 Destroyer on Monday.
The discussions within Government show that risks were identified in the proposed mission, although all parties are said to have supported the right of a British warship to conduct a legal innocent passage through the sea.
A diplomatic row flared up between London and Moscow on Wednesday over the warship's route within 12 miles of the Crimean shoreline.
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