A VanWell, as a past First Sea Lord, Admiral The Lord West probably knows more about the missiles than most of us, even if he's not absolutely current. And as a past Minister for Security, he certainly knows about the security implications of what he said (see the thread starter).

I still think that, for the parliamentary debate to have gone ahead when Mrs May, at least, apparently knew about the problem, was undemocratic, and, as Lord West says, smacks of totalitarian states.

airsound

Rearrange these words.... Teacup, a, in,Storm.

Yes, now this has become a real issue.

The evasion of the question was a bit cringeworthy and will not help her going forward. Surely, much easier just to say "we never discuss publicly the position or status of the nuclear deterrent etc...." That excuse could have been used (rightly or wrongly) to explain her failure to mention in parliament also.

Totally agree ! However, the tactic of not answering any question seems to be totally ingrained with all politicians,

Labour MPs are demanding an enquiry into their Trident failure.

They say that the trio of Corbyn, McDonnell and Abbott fail spectacularly everytime they stick their heads above water.
One of the MPs summed them up by saying, "They are totally ineffective, a waste of money, always veer off course and consistently fail to hit enemy targets".

Airsound.

Lord West was a Sea Lord, he now is a Labour party peer and previously an Undersecretary of State under Gordon Brown in his cabinet - and as such any statements he makes must be considered as political to attack the government than independent.

If you sup with the devil, use a long spoon.

Cant understand why she didnt use Trump's methods... ie "That is a lie perpetuated by the dishonest media, its false news. That missile worked as intended, it was a beautiful thing".

Nobody in the UK is authorised to talk about D5 missile capabilities, potential failures or potential issues past or present.

Nobody.

Not even Mrs May.

Want to talk D5? Then try phoning the country that designs, builds and maintains them and issues a very tight policy on disclosures for their one and only foreign customer (and rightly so).

So the PM evaded the question - well done her.

The problem is LM and MoD make a song and dance about every successful test releasing videos and fact sheets (search You Tube), inevitably when one fails and that fact is covered up it doesn't look good. A simple statement at the time 'failed launch, no danger, inquiry, absolute confidence in system etc...' and it would be the non story some on here think it is. Govt hushed it up and now others will make political capital out of it, well they would if JC was capable. The worst thing is it further erodes public confidence in politicians; the deceitful, untrustworthy political elite stereotype has been further reinforced.

Quite so. I don't recall hearing Lord West pipe up when Gordon Brown refused to divulge to Mumsnet what his favourite biscuit was.;)

A Van,
Spot on .

Comes back to that old chestnut, "Need to know". People who don't need to know get so pissed off when they are excluded from briefings etc. including this ex Sea Lord, now a Labour politician, who has ventured out on a sh*t stirring exercise against his opposition. A "we don't discuss etc" should have been enough.

Weapon fired, weapon failed, problem identified, problem solved, NFA. It is a weapon of war and we don't provide our potential enemy with the minutes of a political discussion, we are back to Need to Know.

Lets keep in mind that while Lord West may be a FORMER Admiral, he is now a Labour politician. And as such has a strong interest in diverting as much attention as possible from the shambolic nuclear stance of his own party leader.

Why be so defensive? There was no danger to anyone. If every trial missile failure the UK has ever had ended up on the Marr show, it would be the only topic!
The press are ill informed and over-sensitive.

Does Trident have a valid "Safety Case"?
;)

Its not a trial missile- Trident is fully operational and this launch was to confirm that it is thus- the fact that it has gone entirely wrong is deeply worrying if you are minded to think the ultimate weapon system you are employing will actually work.
Not a storm in a tea cup at all- multiple issues militarily and politically.
Timing of this release in a major newspaper was possibly done to undermine PM May by a right wing newspaper as she goes into the most demanding of periods of negotiation over Brexit and with new POTUS (and she is relatively inexperienced as a PM). It damns her all ways and she cannot win here.
This is a lead domestic story tonight on all UK TV news .
To suggest Lord West as some sort of Labour mouthpiece owned by them is disingenuous and almost a slur. Hide behind your keyboard in shame.
The missile was supposed to be launched and delivered under planned circumstance to have it firing possibly 180 degree wrong trajectory is a safety issue in anybody's book.

I expect better from Pruners, given your backgrounds, former ranks and relative experience.

Who will be left to care?:uhoh:

Or even know?

Sorry Hangarshuffle but I strongly doubt, you are going to shame anyone here who has served in the military and understands military security. This is nothing more than a political witch hunt exacerbated by a left wing media.