Parliament & Politics Questions and Answers: Hurricane aid

British military aid to help victims of Hurricane Mitch is likely to cost less than pounds 100,000, the Defence Ministry said last night.

Two Royal Navy ships, HMS Sheffield and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary Sir Tristram, and about 1,200 troops - including 500 Royal Marines - helped survivors of the devastation caused in Honduras earlier this month. Armed Forces Minister Doug Henderson said in a Commons written reply that the forces would have been training or operating in the Caribbean anyway.