Athens enjoyed a trouble-free Olympics – and a small part of the credit for that must go to Type 42 destroyer HMS Edinburgh.

The warship has now returned to Portsmouth after months with one of NATO’s permanent task groups, checking shipping for any signs of terrorist activities or support for terrorist groups.

But the high point of the four-month anti-terror programme came when she spent the period of the Olympic Games patrolling the waters around the Greek capital in a NATO maritime security operation.

Much of Edinburgh’s time with NATO’s Standing Naval Force Atlantic (SNFL) was spent in the Eastern Mediterranean, monitoring traffic in one of the busiest seas in the world.

Midway through the destroyer broke off to join a Joint Maritime Course (JMC) off Scotland – an intensive two-week training and exercise programme which put the ships of SNFL and other allied units through their paces under relentless pressure.

The ship’s commanding Officer, Cdr Russ Tuppen, said: “Edinburgh has made an important contribution to the war against terrorism through surveillance operations in the Eastern Mediterranean and our support to the maritime security for the Olympic Games.

“Our integration into the Standing Naval Forces has been particularly smooth and we have enjoyed the opportunity to operate closely with our NATO allies.”