UK commandos were deployed to the archipelago to work alongside Danish and Faroese forces as part of Exercise Lion Protector, a military exercise involving members of the UK-led Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF).

The Faroe Islands, a self-governing part of the Kingdom of Denmark, lie between Scotland, Iceland and Norway and sit within the strategically important Greenland-Iceland-UK (GIUK) Gap.

The stretch of the North Atlantic has long been considered strategically important by Nato because vessels travelling between Russia’s Arctic bases and the wider Atlantic can pass through the area.

READ MORE: UK Government addresses panic over diesel supplies as Donald Trump pressure grows

The Royal Navy said the latest deployment was intended to strengthen cooperation between JEF members and test their ability to respond rapidly to events in the region.

Royal Marines took part in exercises involving the boarding, searching and seizing of vessels, as well as small-boat missions and coastal landings across the Faroes’ difficult terrain.

Commandos also established observation posts on clifftops to monitor maritime routes before carrying out cliff ascents.

General Sir Gwyn Jenkins, First Sea Lord and Commandant General Royal Marines, said: “Defending the Atlantic is fundamental to our economy, national security and way of life.

“In troubling times, we cannot be complacent.

“The return of the Royal Marines to the Faroe Islands should send an unequivocal message: the UK, alongside Denmark and our other allies in the Joint Expeditionary Force, stand ready to protect the waters, islands and vital routes that keep our nations secure.”

Faroe Islands

The deployment involved the UK Commando Force’s Allied Reaction Force Special Operations Maritime Task Group (SOMTG).

The unit provides Nato with troops capable of deploying at short notice for operations including retaking vessels and offshore infrastructure and conducting coastal raids ahead of larger amphibious operations.

Exercise Lion Protector, which ran between August and October, was the task group’s first major exercise.

It also marked the first time Royal Marines had been deployed to the Faroes since the Second World War.

British forces occupied the islands in April 1940 under Operation Valentine after Nazi Germany invaded Denmark.

READ MORE: Suella Braverman accused of being ‘racist against herself’ in Question Time clash

The move was intended to prevent Germany from taking control of the strategically located islands, which sit around 200 miles north-west of Scotland.

The Royal Navy initially sent two destroyers to the Faroese capital Tórshavn before around 250 Royal Marines landed from HMS Suffolk.

British forces remained on the islands until the end of the war in 1945, when control was returned to Denmark.

The new deployment comes amid an increased focus on security in the Arctic and North Atlantic as tensions with Russia continue to rise.

Exercise Lion Protector involved military activity across the High North and through the Danish Straits towards the Baltic Sea, with the JEF saying it was designed to rehearse potential responses to security threats in the region.