Royal Navy: Police investigation launched after drone flies near HMS Prince of Wales in Liverpool and seized

An “Unmanned Aerial System” (UAV) was seized by Merseyside Police after it was seen in the vicinity of HMS Prince of Wales in Liverpool last week. The drone had ventured into a flight restriction zone on Wednesday, December 4, with police and Ministry of Defence (MoD) officers having to respond.

Merseyside Police have confirmed to The News that a police investigation is currently ongoing, with the drone remaining in possession of the force. Officers previously said the flight restriction zone was part of the policing operation while HMS Prince of Wales was docked at Liverpool Cruise Terminal.

“The restriction will remain in place until 10am on Monday 9 December, meaning it will be an offence for any unmanned aircraft to fly below 2,000ft (609 metres) above sea level in the designated area, without the explicit permission of Merseyside Police,” they previously said. “We would like to remind all UAS (unmanned aerial systems) operators of their responsibility to follow the regulations set by the Civil Aviation authority (CAA). Failure to do so could lead to do your drone being seized, or prosecution.”

Similar aircraft was previously spotted flying over RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk between November 20 and 24, with another shadowing HMS Queen Elizabeth - the former Royal Navy flagship - while she was stationed in Hamburg, Germany. Officials said the number of sightings “fluctuated and varied between the bases” but the drones had not been identified as hostile.

Speaking about the November sightings in parliament, Lord Vernon Coaker, Labour, previously said: “A civilian drone was observed in the vicinity on November 22, it got no closer than 250 metres from HMS Queen Elizabeth.” He added: “The Ministry of Defence is aware of these reports and working closely with the US visiting forces, Home Office police forces and other partners to respond to recent events.

“We will work with civil authorities to prosecute those responsible. We take any safety issue seriously and maintain robust measures at Ministry of Defence sites. This includes counter-drone capabilities. This remains a live criminal investigation.”