THE underwater crash between British nuclear missile carrying submarine HMS Vanguard and her French counterpart Le Triomphant is the subject of an urgent inquiry ordered by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band.

Graham Dines

THE underwater crash between British nuclear missile carrying submarine HMS Vanguard and her French counterpart Le Triomphant is the subject of an urgent inquiry ordered by the First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band..

The accident occurred at slow speed somewhere in the Atlantic at the beginning of this month. Both submarines, which are believed to have been carrying ready-to-launch nuclear weapons, were damaged.

Defence Secretary John Hutton told the Commons today: “.

Defence Secretary John Hutton today said lessons would have to be learnt quickly following the collision between British and French nuclear submarines in the Atlantic.

HMS Vanguard and French sub Le Triomphant - both believed to have been carrying nuclear warheads - were damaged in the crash earlier this month.

In the Commons today, Mr Hutton said: “The First Sea Lord has made clear there is a very careful investigation going on to explore exactly how this event happened and what conclusions we should draw from it.

“I don't want to pre-empt the First Sea Lord's inquiry but clearly if there are any lessons to be learnt, and I suspect there are, we need to learn them pretty quickly.”