David Cameron will announce today that RFA Mounts Bay, carrying Wildcat helicopters, plus two Border Force cutters will be deployed to the Aegean Sea.
The move comes as EU heads of state gather in Brussels for an emergency conference on how to help Turkey cope with the millions of migrants fleeing Syria.
An estimated 1,800 migrants per day arrived in Greece last month, taking the total number this year to 116,000. But many fail to make the crossing, with another 25 drowning off Turkey yesterday.
Mr Cameron will call on fellow EU leaders to step up efforts to “smash” the gangs behind the people trafficking and do more to support Greece and Turkey.
He will say: “This migration crisis is the greatest challenge facing Europe today.
“We’ve got to break the business model of the criminal smugglers and stop the desperate flow of people crammed into makeshift vessels from embarking on a fruitless and perilous journey.”
VOS Grace is already in the Aegean.
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