MoD accused of avoiding public scrutiny over Trident whistleblower's claims
|
Version 0 of 1. The Ministry of Defence has been accused of avoiding a potentially embarrassing public examination of allegations made by the Trident whistleblower William McNeilly after it emerged he will not be prosecuted under the Official Secrets Act. Able Seaman McNeilly, 25, is in the custody of Royal Navy police at an undisclosed military establishment in Scotland after he was apprehended at Edinburgh airport on Monday night. McNeilly is instead likely to face disciplinary action for going absent without leave from the Faslane naval base last week after he published a 18-page report online claiming Britain’s nuclear deterrent was a “disaster waiting to happen”. Related: Trident whistleblower needs to be listened to, even if he is exaggerating John Ainslie of CND Scotland, who is trying to arrange legal support for McNeilly, said: “Had it gone [to criminal prosecution under the Official Secrets Act] then the navy gets a second round of publicity and the details surface again. From their point of view, this is a way to close it down.” A guilty verdict is likely to result in incarceration in a military prison, though the discretion to impose a lengthy sentence is believed to be limited. The MoD said earlier on Tuesday that many of the allegations, which included 30 separate security and safety breaches, were anecdotal rather than secret and thus did not constitute a breach of the Official Secrets Act, which carries a far heftier potential jail sentence. Ainslie said: “The concern at this stage is that he is being questioned but is not fully aware of his rights. There are obviously human rights issues with someone in this position.” Several experienced human rights lawyers have offered to assist McNeilly and it is understood that his family would be able to instruct them on his behalf if he was not in a position to do so. But the MoD insists McNeilly’s rights to legal representation are no different from those of a civilian. It confirmed he was not being held at the Faslane nuclear base and that it was too early to tell whether he would be moved to a more central military location in England. A Royal Navy spokeswoman said: “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.” Since McNeilly’s allegations were reported by the Sunday Herald, there has been some speculation that they amounted to the actions of a disgruntled or stressed employee. But Gary McDonald, who has been a close friend of McNeilly since they met at secondary school, describes him as “a sane, well-educated friend” who had genuine fears for public safety. McDonald said: “I have known William since I was 13 or so. He wanted to join the navy for a few years prior and always worked towards it by keeping fit and healthy. He has never talked down the navy or Trident to me or in conversation with friends and would always be very aware when he spoke of his job out there.” McDonald said he was shocked when he first heard about McNeillly’s actions and was mainly concerned for his friend’s wellbeing. “William wouldn’t be stupid to say things out of fantasy and is an educated guy who would not risk what he has to be just thrown in jail. Although his report wasn’t perfect, he obviously had genuine fears for the safety of the public.” He said he hoped that online petitions, which have gathered thousands of signatures in support of leniency for the whistleblower, would help his friend. Prominent politicians have also spoken of their concern for McNeilly’s welfare. Brendan O’Hara, the newly elected SNP MP for the constituency of Argyll and Bute, which includes Faslane, said he hoped the MoD would exercise its duty of care towards McNeilly: “They have to look after him and investigate thoroughly what he has said.” Related: Fallon urged to act on whistleblower's claims about Trident nuclear subs On Monday, O’Hara urged the defence secretary, Michael Fallon, to investigate the report’s claims, describing the apparent safety lapses as “extremely worrying”. SNP MSP Bill Kidd tabled a motion at the Scottish parliament on Tuesday morning, commending McNeilly’s “courageous actions” and urging the MoD not to disregard the report’s contents. Kidd said: “It would seem that he has put the safety of the public before his own freedom. I hope that his rights as a citizen and human being are kept to the fore and that this case is kept in the public domain.” In the online dossier, McNeilly claimed it was more difficult to get into some nightclubs than to gain access to Britain’s nuclear programme facility. Referring to a chronic shortage of personnel, he suggested it was “a matter of time before we’re infiltrated by a psychopath or a terrorist”. He also detailed a fire on board a submarine and the inappropriate use of HMS Vanguard’s missile compartment as a gym and accused navy chiefs of covering up a collision between HMS Vanguard and a French submarine in the Atlantic Ocean in February 2009. |