Five officers threaten to quit over ‘affairs’ on board Trident sub
FIVE officers on a British nuclear-armed submarine threatened to resign when it docked in the US after rows over suspected affairs among crew members, it has emerged.
The captain of HMS Vigilant, Stuart Armstrong, 41, was removed from post amid claims of an illicit relationship with a female crew member.
The scandal widened yesterday when it was claimed his second- in- command was also relieved of his duties when the submarine reached port over claims he too was in a relationship with a woman on board.
Royal Navy sources claimed the alleged affairs sparked rows among crew members while the vessel was at sea, and five officers were incensed at the behaviour of their superiors.
‘A group of officers threatened to resign as soon as the boat reached the US and the CO and XO (executive officer) were then relieved of their command,’ a Captain: Stuart Armstrong Navy source told the Sunday Times. It was claimed naval commanders tried to cover up the scandal up by telling crew members on the submarine to delete social media accounts to stop details of the allegations being leaked.
HMS Vigilant carries Trident missiles and is one of four Vanguard submarines which provide Britain’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent.
It is understood an officer blew the whistle and reported the alleged affairs to top brass at the boat’s base in Faslane, near Glasgow. Two senior officers flew out to investigate and both the captain and his deputy were relieved of their duties.
Women have served on Navy surface ships since 1990 but it was not until three years ago that they were allowed beneath the waves.
All Navy vessels have a ‘no-touching rule’ banning intimate relationships. A breach of the Navy’s strict ‘code of social conduct’ is regarded as particularly serious if one of the parties is a commanding officer, who could be dismissed.
One naval source said: ‘ It undermines the whole command chain. The trouble is with something of this magnitude it can destroy the camaraderie that goes with the officer corps. The code was put there specifically to stop this happening.’
It is understood the female officer has not been suspended, and there is no suggestion she had done anything wrong.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘We can confirm an investigation is under way, but it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage.
‘Any allegations of wrongdoing are taken very seriously and will be dealt with appropriately.’
The Navy’s first female warship captain, Sarah West, was released from her command of the frigate HMS Portland over an alleged affair with a married officer in 2014.
The HMS Vigilant allegations are the latest embarrassment for the Navy after a senior officer publicly waded into a row about defence cuts last week.
Rear Admiral Alex Burton, commander of UK maritime forces, took to Twitter to vent his frustration about possible plans to take two landing ships out of service. The commander, who handed in his notice weeks ago, also complained about cuts to the Royal Marines.
‘Undermines the command chain’