Chill Out! MP David Lammy Takes a Frozen Selfie on Taxpayer Trip

David Lammy stood for photos on Wednesday during his journey to the Arctic.

The Foreign Secretary was on a government-sponsored trip researching strategies to combat Russia ' s activities in the High North.

Mr Lammy got onboard a vessel with Norway’s foreign minister Espen Barth Eide to observe a receding ice sheet in Svalbard.

He is undertaking a three-day trip to Norway and Iceland, during which he will examine the threat posed by VladimirPutin. Putin 'S vessels present risks to cables and infrastructure on the ocean floor.

The UK is likewise looking into the use of artificial intelligence to identify aggressive actions by states in the area, as part of a collaborative plan with Iceland.

Mr Lammy said that the Arctic was becoming 'an increasingly important frontier for geopolitical competition and trade' as melting sea ice opens up shipping routes and the potential to exploit oil, gas and mineral resources.

He added : 'This is a region where Russia's shadow fleet operates, threatening critical infrastructure like undersea cables to the UK and Europe, and helping fund Russia's aggressive activity.

'Now more than ever, it’s crucial that we collaborate with our partners in the High North, such as Norway and Iceland, to boost our capacity for monitoring and safeguarding these maritime areas.'

That’s why we’ve announced today new UK funding to collaborate more closely with Iceland, employing AI to enhance our capability to track and identify hostile state activities in the Arctic region.

It comes after the Foreign Office said UK sanctions have hampered Putin's efforts to maintain his fleet of nuclear-powered icebreakers operating in the Arctic.

A floating repair dock destined for Russian service in the Arctic has been stranded in the Mediterranean after the tug boat meant to tow it was hit with sanctions earlier this month.

As the conflict in Ukraine continues, attention is growing around the operations of Russia’s naval forces from their Northern Fleet and their ‘shadow fleet’ of commercial ships, which are being utilized to bypass sanctions placed on oil and gas exports.

Russia's icebreaking vessels are considered vital for clearing pathways used by the tankers of the so-called 'shadow fleet' in the northern regions.

The sanctions placed upon the Vengery tug left it incapable of towing a mobile repair station for the icebreakers from Istanbul to the Arctic region.

In the meantime, the UK has pledged £554,000 towards the Alan Turing Institute, supported by Iceland, to investigate how artificial intelligence can enhance surveillance abilities and the capacity to identify potential enemy actions.

This week, during his trip, Mr Lammy made history as the first foreign secretary to journey to the Svalbard archipelago, located well within the Arctic Circle. There, British researchers are working alongside Norwegian and international colleagues to investigate the effects of global warming.

The Foreign Office’s worldwide strategic science fund allocated £400,000 to back UK scientists working in the Arctic region.

In Iceland, Mr Lammy will visit Keflavík Air Base, where Royal Air Force (RAF) jets have assisted with NATO air-policing missions.

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