Labour demands more answers from Fallon over Trident failure
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Version 0 of 1. Labour is writing to Michael Fallon, the defence secretary, to demand more answers over the failed Trident missile launch, amid continuing questions over his insistence that the test was successful. Nia Griffith, the shadow defence secretary, said it was unacceptable that Fallon had given parliament a “high-handed brush off” by stonewalling MPs in the House of Commons and refusing to appear before the defence select committee. Her letter will press him on who took the decision to cover up the malfunctioning missile, why it was kept secret and what investigations the Ministry of Defence has carried out into what went wrong. “Labour is not asking for the government to disclose any sensitive or inappropriate information, but the British people have a right to clarity and transparency – they certainly deserve to hear answers from their prime minister, instead of from unnamed sources in the US military who have confirmed that this missile test did indeed end in failure,” she said. Fallon told the House of Commons three times on Tuesday that the HMS Vengeance submarine and its crew were “successfully certified”, allowing them to return to military operation. He used that phrase to cast doubt on a Sunday Times story that claimed a missile suffered a malfunction during the test process. However, as he spoke, US broadcaster CNN reported an unnamed American official confirming the missile had to self-destruct off the coast of Florida. A description of a previous drill in 2012, known as a demonstration and shakedown operation (Daso), suggests Fallon may have been able to claim it was a success because the submarine and its crew are “certified” before the beginning of a missile launch. A Ministry of Defence magazine published in 2012: “Having achieved a strong pass in this training, the crew and weapon system are certified and the submarine is then able to conduct a launch. This is conducted on the US Atlantic range, using shore and sea-based tracking assets.” Asked whether the main test was deemed successful before the missile launch, Downing Street refused to comment on the details of the operation. A government spokesperson said: “The capability and effectiveness of the Trident missile, should we ever need to employ it, is not in doubt. In June the Royal Navy conducted a routine unarmed Trident missile test launch from HMS Vengeance, as part of an operation which is designed to certify the submarine and its crew. “Vengeance and her crew were successfully tested and certified, allowing Vengeance to return into service. We have absolute confidence in our independent nuclear deterrent.” On Tuesday, the chairman of parliament’s defence watchdog criticised the government’s “unnecessary surreptitiousness” over the Trident missile malfunction, as Fallon declined an invitation to appear before his committee. Dr Julian Lewis, who leads the Commons defence committee, said the defence secretary had declined the offer to give evidence because “he did not feel he could usefully add anything to what he has previously said, even in a closed session”. Ahead of a hearing of the Commons defence committee, Lewis said it was “unfortunate” that Fallon would not attend even in private and criticised the government’s handling of the incident. “It is unnecessary surreptitiousness about something that could have been dealt with in a perfectly straightforward way,” he said. Adm Lord West, the former navy chief, did appear before the committee, where he said anyone who thought it could be kept secret was “stupid or foolhardy” and explained that the Russian government would almost certainly have known about the malfunction. “The Russians regularly used to have a ship to monitor it and of course they monitor it from space as well,” he said, adding: “I’m sure they are very well aware that it didn’t go all the way down to Ascension [Island] or wherever it is supposed to go.” |