Defence cuts threaten Trident nuclear safety, warns MoD

The safety of Britain's nuclear weapons and submarines is being jeopardised by staff shortages and spending cuts, according to secret Ministry of Defence reports.

The MoD's nuclear safety watchdog has warned it can no longer ensure Trident warheads and nuclear submarines "remain safe". There was a "lack of adequate resource to deliver (and regulate) the defence nuclear programmes safely".

The Royal Navy has been coping with shortages of reactor engineers and scientists by restricting their time ashore and cutting submarine operations. Now such trade-offs are becoming impossible, Channel 4 News is to reveal.

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