Royal Navy ship given freedom of inland city

A Royal Navy ship has been given a Freedom of the City honour by a city that is about 50 miles from the nearest bit of coast.

HMS Protector was given the award by Cambridge City Council at the city's military fair last month.

The vessel, an ice patrol ship usually based in Antarctica, has been recognised for its ongoing contributions to researching climate change and works with two research organisations from Cambridge, the council said.

Dinah Pounds, Labour councillor who presented the award, said: "We are very grateful for their work and contributions to tackling climate change."

Working in the Antarctic, the ship has supported scientific research, wildlife mapping, researching changing climate and the continent's shifting waters.

This work is carried out by the Scott Polar Research Institute and the British Antarctic Survey – both based in Cambridge.

Pound added: "We declared a climate change emergency in 2019, and lot of work has gone into making Cambridge more climate resilient.

"This is a wonderful way to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community."

The Freedom of the City parade at Parker's Piece included people from HMS Protector, armed forces veterans and cadets.

Capt Tom Weaver said he looked "forward to strengthening the relationship" between the city and the ship while they continued their "research into the impacts of climate change and human activity" on the south pole continent.

Councillors last awarded Freedom of the City to the Hungarian city of Szeged in 2011.

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