A nuclear missile-test (even with a dummy warhead) is news anyway. But when it goes wrong it is BIG news! Who is to blame, who can give us details?
Read on:
Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has refused to divulge “operational details” of what happened during a Trident test last June.
It is reported that a missile went off course, but the government has not confirmed or denied this.
Theresa May was told about the test when she became prime minister in July, shortly before MPs voted overwhelmingly to renew Trident.
Sir Michael told the Commons he had “absolute confidence” in the system.
Labour and the SNP have urged the government to explain whether the test firing from HMS Vengeance went wrong.
The Sunday Times reported an unarmed missile had been set off from the submarine off the coast of Florida – but, rather than head towards Africa, had veered towards the US.
Sir Michael was asked several times by MPs to say whether or not the test missile had gone off course as reported.
He said: “I can assure the House that the capability and effectiveness of of the United Kingdom’s independent nuclear deterrent is not in doubt.
“The government has absolute confidence in our deterrent and in the Royal Navy.”
For Labour, shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith said: “This is just not good enough.”
She added: “At the heart of this issue is a worrying lack of transparency and a prime minister who’s chosen to cover up a serious incident, rather than coming clean with the British public. This House, and more importantly the British public, deserve better.”
Another Labour MP, Mary Creagh, said a White House official had confirmed to the US broadcaster CNN that the missile did “auto-self destruct” off the coast of Florida. She asked why people in the UK were “the last to know”.
The Defence Select Committee chairman, Conservative MP Julian Lewis, urged the government to be frank about what happened, while the SNP said it was “absolutely outrageous” that information had been deliberately withheld from MPs.
But Sir Michael said: “We do not give operational details of the demonstration and shake-down operation of one of our submarines conducting a test with one of our Trident missiles”
The Ministry of Defence said submarine HMS Vengeance and its crew had “successfully tested” last June, with Sir Michael repeating this.
He cautioned people against “believing everything” they read in newspapers and said: “I am not going to respond to speculation about the test last June.”
Read more here: BBC.com
