Ben Wallace summons First Sea Lord for telling off over nuke discipline after top officer’s drunken warhead rap
DEFENCE Secretary Ben Wallace has summoned the First Sea Lord to give him a dressing down over nuclear discipline — after The Sun revealed how a top Navy officer turned up to nuke duty while drunk.
Mr Wallace, a former Scots Guards Army officer, said he took “matters of military discipline incredibly seriously”.
Lt Cdr Len Louw was hauled off submarine HMS Vigilant in the US and flown home after crewmates found him “in no fit state” to take charge of the doomsday weapons.
Speaking at the Army’s Warfighting Experiment on Salisbury Plain, Wilts, Mr Wallace said: “No one person is in control of these types of complex weapons.”
“There are lots and lots of checks and balances,”Wallace added.
Lt Cdr Louw, in his 40s, had been out drinking against his captain’s orders.
Last month The Sun revealed that a quarter of the boat’s crew had tested positive for coronavirus after sailors broke strict lockdown rules to go boozing in local bars.
Most read in UK News
The MoD said: “There are numerous safety checks and processes to protect the safety and use of weapons aboard all submarines.”
Sources said Lt Crd Louw was hauled over the coals when he returned top Faslane, where the submarine fleet is based.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: “Where an individual’s conduct falls short of the high standards we expect, we won’t hesitate to take the appropriate action.”
GOT a story? RING The Sun on 0207 782 4104 or WHATSAPP on 07423720250 or EMAIL exclusive@the-sun.co.uk