A UK hospital ship should be deployed to help with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout in developing countries, ministers have been told.

Conservative Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the Defence Select Committee, told the Commons: “If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s the value of spare capacity – the built-in resilience to deal with the unexpected.

“And with that in mind, could I invite the Defence Secretary to look at deploying RFA Argus, our hospital ship, and other military assets to assist with the international rollout of vaccines to developing countries?”

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said RFA Argus has just returned home after helping in the Caribbean before switching his attention to the delayed integrated review of defence and security.

He said: “It will be in the spring. Covid has taken its effect, the number one priority for the Government is dealing and delivering a Covid response.

“It doesn’t prevent defence with a multi-year settlement setting out and driving forward, in conjunction with the Foreign Office, a plan to make sure when it is launched everyone will be able to see it – and I am determined it is done this spring because it is important not just domestically, but for our international allies to understand the direction of travel on our defence.”

Last year the Royal Navy deployed the auxiliary support vessel to the north coast of Honduras to support the US military in disaster relief efforts after a hurricane.