British submariner William McNeilly went on the run after he released confidential information about Britain's Trident nuclear weapons program on May 12. He was detained by police after returning to Scotland on May 18.
McNeilly had been in hiding after he wrote and released an 18 page document highlighting a “disaster waiting to happen”. The British defence ministry said he was being held in a secure military base.
The weapons engineer, who was on patrol with submarine HMS Victorious between January and April, revealed a catalogue of security failings that make the Trident program an easy target for terrorists.
Included in his revelations were details about a crash with a French submarine in 2009 that had gone unreported, technical defects and failures, and improper ID checks on site.
A second whistleblower came forward on May 12 supporting McNeilly’s claims. Euan Bryson, who left the service in 2013, said “junior employees were regularly tasked to do jobs they did not have the security training or clearance to carry out”.
The Royal Navy disagreed “with McNeilly’s subjective and unsubstantiated personal views”, but said they were investigating the issues.
[Reprinted frpm TeleSUR English.]
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