British Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace has announced that he took “matters of military discipline incredibly seriously”, following the situation with Lieutenant Commander Len Louw, a Royal Navy officer who was placed under investigation after reporting to take command of the submarine HMS Vigilant's Trident nuclear missiles while drunk, The Sun reports.
According to the newspaper, Wallace ended up summoning the country's First Sea Lord to deliver “a dressing down over nuclear discipline” to the latter over the matter in question.
While speaking at the Army's Warfighting Experiment, the defence secretary also insisted that "no one person is in control of these types of complex weapons".
"There are lots and lots of checks and balances,” he added.
The British Ministry of Defence also reportedly stated that "there are numerous safety checks and processes to protect the safety and use of weapons aboard all submarines."
Regarding the fate of Lt. Cdr. Len Louw, sources cited by the newspaper said that he got “hauled over the coals” upon his return to Faslane.
“Where an individual’s conduct falls short of the high standards we expect, we won’t hesitate to take the appropriate action,” a Royal Navy spokesperson reportedly said.
Previously, the newspaper also reported that about a quarter of the submarine's crew had tested positive for COVID-19 after sailors violated "strict lockdown rules" and visited local bars.