London - British Prime Minister Theresa May says she has "absolute faith" in the UK's nuclear weapons system despite reports that an unarmed missile went off course during a test. The Sunday Times says the missile, fired in June, veered off course, weeks before a crucial Commons vote on Trident's future.
When questioned by the BBC, Mrs May repeatedly refused to say if she knew about the misfire ahead of the vote. Nicola Sturgeon said it was a "hugely serious issue". Scotland's First Minister, who is a passionate opponent of Trident, tweeted: "There should be full disclosure of what happened, who knew what/when, and why the House of Commons wasn't told." Meanwhile Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn said it called for "a serious discussion". He told Sky News: "It's a pretty catastrophic error when a missile goes in the wrong direction, and while it wasn't armed, goodness knows what the consequences of that could have been." In July, weeks after the test and days after Mrs May became prime minister, MPs voted overwhelmingly to spend up to £40bn on replacing Trident. But when asked by BBC's Andrew Marr whether she knew then that the misfire had happened, she said: "I have absolute faith in our Trident missiles. When I made that speech in the House of Commons, what we were talking about was whether or not we should renew our Trident." She was asked a further three times but she did not answer the question. The Ministry of Defence did not give details of the test process but said it was a success. Labour former defence minister Kevan Jones has demanded an inquiry into the claims, telling the Sunday Times: "The UK's independent nuclear deterrent is a vital cornerstone for the nation's defence. "Ministers should come clean if there are problems and there should be an urgent inquiry into what happened." (FA)
