Theresa May praises military's work against terror at Armed Forces Day celebrations

A parade to mark Armed Forces Day. Credit: PA

Theresa May has praised the work of the military as she visited Liverpool to celebrate national Armed Forces Day.

The Prime Minister joined Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon for a parade alone the city's waterfront.

She praised services members for "helping to keep us safe" as she highlighted their work across the UK after the Manchester Terror attack.

They played a "vital role" in acting as a "visible reassurance to communities... in the aftermath of the Manchester attack", she said.

Mrs May continued: "Further afield they continue to take the fight to Daesh in Iraq and Syria, helping to drive the terrorists back and give ordinary people in those countries the chance to rebuild their lives.

Mrs May said she was proud to join of thousands who celebrated the armed forces work and had done "so much to preserve our freedom".

She posed for selfies with some visitors at the event, which saw parades of troops along with military hardware.

Visitors also saw a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight featuring vintage Spitfires and Hurricanes as well as a flypast from the Red Arrows.

The Red Arrows perform a flypast at the celebrations. Credit: PA
Luca Gordon, six, from Edinburgh, with ex-service personnel from Legion Scotland. Credit: PA

Sir Michael Fallon also singled out the army's response the Manchester Arena attack in his comments, saying they were "well-rehearsed" and ready to roll out extra support within hours.

Soldiers were called out out to help patrol the streets after the terror threat level was raised to 'critical' after the suicide bombing at an Ariana Grande concert.

He added: "There are some 10,000 servicemen and women who are working for us around the globe on operations or in our bases.

"They have been helping to deal with Daesh terrorism, they have been helping to rescue migrants in the Mediterranean, they have been on Nato deployments, they have been peacekeeping in South Sudan.

"All of that keeps us safer here at home."

Thousands joined celebrations in Liverpool. Credit: PA

Thousands of people took to the streets to mark the event.

It began with a gun salute and parade and also included receptions, displays, a visit from Royal Navy ship HMS Iron Duke and flypasts by the Red Arrows and Typhoon.

More than 300 other events will take place around the world as part of the celebrations.