Fugitive Submariner Held By Navy Police

A missing submariner who made claims about the safety of the Trident nuclear deterrent has been apprehended.

Able Seaman William McNeilly was detained at Edinburgh Airport at 10pm on Monday, according to Sky Sources.

A statement from the Royal Navy said: "We can confirm that AB McNeilly was apprehended last night and is now in the custody of the Royal Navy Police at a military establishment in Scotland where he is being afforded the duty of care that we give to all of our people.

"The Royal Navy disagrees with McNeilly's subjective and unsubstantiated personal views but we take the operation of our submarines and the safety of our personnel extremely seriously and so continue to fully investigate the circumstances of this issue."

Able Seaman McNeilly disappeared last week after posting a lengthy document online claiming Trident was a "disaster waiting to happen".

Police launched a hunt for the 25-year-old after he published the allegations about submarines based at Faslane on the Clyde.

On Monday, he posted on his Facebook page that he had "moved between countries" before later writing: "I will be handing myself into the police today".

In the document about Trident, Mr McNeilly said he was an Engineering Technician Submariner who was on patrol with HMS Victorious this year.

He claimed there were fire risks and leaks onboard submarines, and added that security checks were inadequate when submarines are docked at Faslane.

He wrote that security was so lax that it was "harder to get into most nightclubs" than it was to get into the top secret base.

"My aim is to paint an overall picture of what I've seen, and to break down the false images of a perfect system that most people envisage exists," his post said.

He wrote in his dossier, which was released on 11 May: "The penalty for releasing this will be life prison if I'm lucky.

"The worst fear for me isn't prison or being assassinated, it's the fear of sacrificing everything I have just to warn the public and yet never be heard.

"My leave expires today, I will be hunted down for not turning up. When I'm found I will confess and will no longer be able to keep trying to warn the public."