this is bbc news with me simon mccoy with the headlines at three. number 10 confirms theresa may was briefed on last summer's trident submarine tests but it is refusing to comment on reports that a missile mis—fired. sinn fein announces michelle o'neill as its new leader in stormont, taking overfrom martin mcguinness; she'll lead the party into the upcoming elections. an investigation uncovers a catalogue of failures that contributed to the death of dean saunders who should have been in hospital not prison in her first regional cabinet meeting the prime minister is announcing the government's vision for the british industry after brexit. also in the next hour, president trump talks business it's the first full working day for us president donald trump. he says it marks the start of ‘great deals' for america, promising to get on with rolling out his policy agenda. and britain's double olympic boxing champion nicola adams turns her back on the tokyo olympics to become a professionalfighter. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news.

downing street says theresa may was told about a trident missile test carried out injune last year — when she became prime minister the following month. but number 10 wouldn't confirm or deny reports that the unarmed missile had malfunctioned and veered off course. the defence secretary will now make a statement to parliament this afternoon following pressure from labour and the snp and accusations of a cover up. a short time ago our chief political correspondent vicki young spoke to the snp‘s brendan o'hara, who says that the prime minister must have known about the trident test. a lot of questions to be answered today at the regular briefing for journalists. in tend, the prime minister's official spokeswoman said the capability of the missile is unquestionable. theresa may said she had been briefed about the operation

itself although she wouldn't say whether theresa may was told about the missile misfiring. let's discuss this more, i'm joined the missile misfiring. let's discuss this more, i'mjoined by the missile misfiring. let's discuss this more, i'm joined by the snp‘s defence spokesman, brendan o'hara. what questions will you be asking of the government today? we need to know when theresa may found out. it's unthinkable that the prime minister of this country did not know that one of her nuclear weapons had gone astray. she clearly knew. i think the question we have to find out is, when did she know, where did she get this information and when. if it transpires it was ahead of the votes, it smacks of a cover—up and i think there are two issues here. i think there are two issues here. i think there are two issues here. i think there is the issue of the cover—up itself and there is the operational malfunction that happened. we'll push the is secretary of state for defence on this. the line from number ten has

been that there was a test to make sure that the crew and the submarine could be cleared for action and they were, so basically they passed the test? the fact of the matter is, this mission had to be aborted. this was a nuclear missile which was supposedly heading towards the coast of africa and, if we are told it's correct, it veered back towards the course of the united states of america. this is a serious malfunction. we have to find out what happened. i think the people, the taxpayer who're just being asked to pay £200,000 million over the lifetime to renew this deserve to be told what actually happened with this missile. the other argument is the vote in the house of commons was about the future of trident but actually as long as it passed all the tests, the future is what

matters? if it veered towards the coastline of our number one allie, i don't see why by any stretch of the imagination it can be deemed to have passed a test. this was an embarrassing incident for the ministry of defence and they tried to cover it up at a point where there was a crucial vote taking place in the house of commons. now, it may or may not have made a difference to the vote. what they did,| difference to the vote. what they did, i believe, with malice aforethought, was to deny that knowledge to parliamentarians and that, if it's proven correct, is absolutely unacceptable and absolutely unacceptable and absolutely wrong. thank you very much. some serious charges being placed against the government. a defence minister will have to answer some of the questions in the next hour or so. sinn fein has named it's health minister, michelle o'neill as the party's new leader

in northern ireland. she will take over from martin mcguinness who is standing down because of ill health. they will have just five weeks to prepare for an election, after the northern ireland executive collapsed over the handling of a botched green energy scheme. the incoming leader said she felt the expectations of sinn fein upon her. for me to be selected to lead our party in the north is truly the biggest honour and privilege of my life. i feel enormous responsibility on my shoulders and while i don't underestimate my task, given the changing political world locally nationally and internationally, i will not let you down? and i won't let you down because i've learnt from the best. my late father, the meps and of course martin mcguinness, i've worked with martin throughout all of my adult life as

an activist, councillor, mla and minister. i have no doubt that i am following in the foot steps of a political giant. martin mcguinness said her appointment represents a much—needed generational change in the republican party. can i say how wonderful it is to be here for what isa wonderful it is to be here for what is a very special occasion for me and i'm not talking about my standing down from not fighting the election because that's the only thing i'm standing down from, i haven't gone away you know. there is a capable young lady rising

to sinn fein in the north. many people know thatjerry and i and a small group of people around leadership level have been involved in discussions going back well over a year about the need for generational change. martin mcguinness. joining me now is chris paige our ireland correspondent. all change at the top and this injection of youth at the top of sinn fein? yes. this is a very important moment for the modern republican movement. michelle o'neill is taking over as leader of the second largest party here at stormont, the biggest irish nationalist party in northern ireland and, as you heard, she's going straight into an election campaign, stormont. there'll be a pool for the stormont assembly on 2nd march. it can't be that often that a new leader goes into an election campaign as quickly as that, but the two men who've been at

the top of sinn fein for the last two decades, gerry adams and martin mcguinness were there when it was announced she'd take over as head of the party here at stormont. just that image of mr adams and mr mcguinness side by side with mrs o'neill, i think is going to be very significant for her here in that you have got a transition in leadership and sinn fein have been talking about this for quite some months now. mr mcguinness stood down last week from politics because of ill health, mr adams is in his late 60s and has no plans to retire yet but he says sooner and has no plans to retire yet but he says sooner oi’ and has no plans to retire yet but he says sooner or later he will leave hisjob as he says sooner or later he will leave his job as sinn he says sooner or later he will leave hisjob as sinn fein president, leading the overall party, and he's a member of the irish parliament in dublin. people here involved in the peace process a re people here involved in the peace process are handing over to a younger generation. michelle o'neill

is 40, she was in her teens when the peace process started so she's very much seen in that mould of new republican leadership. she has a republican leadership. she has a republican background, her late father who you heard her talking about, brendan doris, was a sinn fein councillor and ira prisoner, but she was not involved in the ira herself. more people will come to the forenow who were not part of the ira armed campaign and sinn fein see that as part of their strategy to move forward in their political objectives. and she could become deputy first minister or first minister. what are sinn fein‘s chances? they do go into this election in a strong position, i suppose. they're way out in the lead of the second biggest nationalist party, the sdlp, they are behind the democratic unionist party. it was that fallout that collapsed the devolved government which has led to this snap election. sinn fein think

that the decision to walk out, the decision of martin mcguinness to resign asjoint decision of martin mcguinness to resign as joint head of that power sharing administration in protest at what he called the dup‘s arrogance has chimed with the party's aggressor. they don't think they stand to lose anything, they think they stand to gain something. the dup can be expected to hit hard and blame sinn fein for everything that's happened here at stormont recently. so if you get a position where both the dup and sinn fein bolster their strength in this election or certainly don't lose any support, that's what most observers think will happen, you will be in a situation where michelle o'neill before she can take over as joint head of the power sharing government here, will have to lead sinn fein into negotiations to try to work out the differences between the dup and sinn fein and the disagreement‘s been so deep this time around, a lot of people think it could be some weeks or even months before we get a power sharing government up and running again. challenging times ahead. thank you very much. breaking news from our security

correspondent gordon corera, we are just hearing the director of gchq robert hanagan has decided to step down. he's been in thejob two—and—a—half years. this has been confirmed by the intelligence agency. sources stress to gordon that this is for personal family reasons. he took over from sir ian bobham and previously worked in the government. he's stepping down early as director of gchq. an investigation into the death of a prisoner has found a catalogue of failures contributed to his suicide and he should have been in hospital not prison. 25 year old dean saunders electrocuted himself at chelmsford prison in essex in january last year. the prison ombudsman said that staff ignored significant risk factors when they cut back observation of him injail. it comes as figures due out later this week are expected to show the number of suicides in prisons

in england and wales last year was at record levels. here's our social affairs correspondent michael buchanan. dean saunders had no previous history of mental illness but in december 2015 the young dad suddenly became paranoid and delusional, convinced he had to kill himself. i think i'm still, on a day—to—day basis, trying to understand that he was ill in the first place. his family were plunged into despair. within hours he attacked his brother and father with a knife. already injured, mark could only stand and watch as his son took a kitchen knife to his own throat. he brought the knife down and it didn't cut. and that's when we both realised that in his haste to pick the knife up, it was the back of the blade that had gone to his throat. as dean tried to kill himself, mark was stabbed in his stomach, but held the knife in place to save his son's life.

at that time i thought i can't let him have the knife. and i put my hand over the top of his so he could not pull it out. as he pulled it out, i held it in, i could not let him have that knife. dean saunders was charged with attempted murder and sent to chelmsford prison. though initially on constant watch, three staff, none of whom were medically trained or had read his notes, reduced his observations to every half hour. his family pleaded with officials not to do it, but were turned down in a phone call. i said, "i'm telling you now, if you don't put my son back on constant watch then he will kill himself. you won't be able to say you weren't aware, because you know. if he kills himself it will be your fault." efforts were made to move dean to a secure hospital, but a shortage of beds and delays over christmas

and new year meant it never happened. on january 4th last year, dean saunders killed himself. his partner now has to raise their son without his father. we openly talk about dean to teddy. we say "daddy this, daddy that". i suppose i kind of promised dean, there will never be a day that will pass that teddy won't know how much you love him. dean was so looking forward to the point where teddy would be walking around and running and kicking a football with him. two days after dean went, teddy started walking. he missed that by two days. today's report says dean saunders should have been in hospital, not in prison, but basic failure contributed to this loving family being ripped apart. the prime minister has launched the government's new industrial

strategy for a post—brexit britain during her first cabinet meeting in the north west of england. theresa may says the government will take a new, active role focusing on science, technology and infrastructure. our industry correspondent john moylan reports. how can the government drive the economy forward? for the business secretary, greg clark, places like this are part of the answer. it's a new automotive innovation centre in warwick designed to get this sector firing on all cylinders. one of the big themes of the industrial strategy is to build on our great su ccesses , strategy is to build on our great successes, but also to help make sure that we drive growth in all parts of the country. the industrial strategy will be committed to driving very hard to spread the opportunities right across the country and to drive, notjustjobs,

but really good well—paying jobs in all parts of the country. the strategy was unveiled by the prime minister at a regional cabinet meeting this morning in daresbury in cheshire. a green paper sets out key areas for research and development to skills and infrastructure to boost productivity. but will it help all regions of the uk? we need an industrial strategy that combines ha rd industrial strategy that combines hard and soft infrastructure so we desperately need the transport spending that the government's talked about, yet to deliver. but we also need to see skills strategy and education right back to early years if we are going to really make sure that the northern economy can flourish. the strategy will play to our strengths, backing areas like battery technology and life sciences, other sectors will be able to strike deals for government support. over the years, to strike deals for government support. overthe years, governments have of blown hot and cold over whether we need an industrial strategy or not. the biggest test of this plan is whether it can get the

economy firing on all cylinders and we prepare to leave the eu. this hi—tech auto firm in berkshire makes gear boxes for racing cars. its boss wa nts a ny gear boxes for racing cars. its boss wants any strategy to deliver for the long—term. we invest millions a year into people, training, the expertise and technology, into the machinery. we are looking for some degree of certainty that the environment we operate in is going to be stable right through so we know if we invest, we can get a return on that investment because things aren't going to change around it. £4.7 billion of funding announced last autumn will back the plan and there's new money to boost skills in science, technology and maths education. but today labour called it all too little too late and the lib dems said that any strategy while leaving the eu single market is laughable. john moylan bbc news. the welsh first minister, carwynjones, has called for britain

to retain "full and unfettered access" to the european single market after brexit. his labour party has joined forces with plaid cymru and the welsh liberal democrats to publish proposals to restrict freedom of movement to those eu migrants who already have a job offer in the uk. theresa may has said that britain will leave the single market. the headlines: the government faces questions over how much the prime minister knew about the reported misfiring of a trident missile during a test. sinn fein announces michelle o'neill as its new leader in northern ireland taking overfrom martin mcguinness. she'll lead the party into the upcoming elections. an investigation uncovers a catalogue of failures contributing to the death of dean saunders who should have been in hospital, not prison. in sport, nicola adams will make her professional boxing day bewl in april. the double olympic champion says she wants to become a world champion in the pro—ranks. hull city's ryan mason is said to be

conscious and able to talk after undergoing surgery on a fractured skull. he clashed heads with gary cahill in hull's 2—0 defeat yesterday. and johan that konta will face serena williams in the quarter—final of the australian open. she beat her russian opponent in straight sets. more on those stories in about ten minutes. president trump says he has a busy week ahead — with the focus on manufacturing jobs and national security. that's what he tweeted earlier today at the start of his first full working week at the white house. let's take a look at what else may be at the top of his tray. the president is currently hosting a breakfast session with business leaders. next on the agenda he has a session signing executive orders, followed by the daily briefing. we wa nt we want to make our products here. that doesn't mean we don't want to trade because we do want to trade

but we want to make products here. if you look at some of the original great people that ran this country, you will see they felt very strongly about that. we are going to start making our products again and there'll be advantages to companies that do indeed make their products here, so we've seen it, it's going to bea here, so we've seen it, it's going to be a way of, you watch, it's going to be a way. i've always said, by the time you put together these massive ships or aeroplanes and fly them it's going to be cheaper. we are going to be cutting taxes massively for both the middle class and for companies — massively. we are trying to get it down to anywhere from 15—20% and it's now 35%, but it's probably more 38% than it is 35%, wouldn't you say? that's a big thing. a bigger thing, it is 35%, wouldn't you say? that's a big thing. a biggerthing, and

that surprised me, is the fact that we are going to be cutting regulation massively. we are going to have regulation and it will be just as strong and just as good and just as strong and just as good and just as strong and just as good and just as protective of the people as the regulation we have right now. the regulation that you have now is that you can't do anything. i've people telling me they have more people telling me they have more people working on regulations than they have people doing product and it's out of control, its gotten out of control. i'm a very big person when it comes to the environment. i've received awards on the environment. but some of that stuff makes it impossible to get anything built. it takes years and years. you know, you can look at some examples, i read one recently where a man's been trying to build a factory for many, been trying to build a factory for any been trying to build a factory for many, many years and his vote was going to be fairly soon and he gave up going to be fairly soon and he gave up because he wasn't going to win the vote, spent millions, it actually ruined his life. we can't

have that. so when somebody wants to put upa have that. so when somebody wants to put up a factory, it's going to be expedited and you have to go through the process but it's going to be expedited. we are going to take care of the environment, safety and all of the environment, safety and all of the environment, safety and all of the other things we have to take ca re of the other things we have to take care of. you are going to get such great service. there will be no country that's going to be faster, better, more fair and, country that's going to be faster, better, more fairand, at country that's going to be faster, better, more fair and, at the same time, protecting the people of the country. whether it's time, protecting the people of the country. whether its safety or so many other reasons, regulations will be cut by 75%. our correspondent gary o'donoghue is in washington. the president hit the road running and we knew he was going to because he tweeted didn't he? he did. no change there really. what you are seeing i think is day one setting the tone in terms of this idea of promoting americanjobs the tone in terms of this idea of promoting american jobs back the tone in terms of this idea of promoting americanjobs back in america, threatening, the bit you didn't hear in the clip was

threatening the businessmen if you start making stuff outside the us we are going to smack a great big tariff on it when it's brought back into the us. so it was a threat there and also he's meeting unions later on today. we are also expecting in—between times him potentially to sign this executive order that will withdraw the us from the tra ns—pacific partnership order that will withdraw the us from the trans—pacific partnership which will effectively make that thing deadin will effectively make that thing dead in the water. a dozen countries in the pacific rim, 40% of world gdp. interesting geopolitically that will leave a vacuum there, a trade vacuum, which china may seek to fill because it was never part of the tpp. a big focus on that, a big focus on nafta, the us free trade agreement which he's expected to negotiate between canada, mexico and the us and that's before we have got started on the border wall. he'll be speaking to the egyptian president today so he's got other matters to deal with too. but of course, most

of the interest is going to be on the first of the news conferences tonight with a press secretary who's already under fire? yes. it's going to be an extraordinary moment. on saturday, he introduces himself to the press with an angry and vitriolic statement really about what he effectively said was press lies about the size of the inauguration crowd. the press here broadcasters here have insisted that the crowds for the inauguration were much bigger at president obama's inauguration. i suggest viewers go in line and take a look at the aerials of the national mall and make your own mind up. i think it will be pretty clear from that. the end of the week, of course, simon, theresa may is here, it's going to be fascinating. she has so much capital invested in the idea of getting a signal from this administration, a clear signal that there'll be an early trade deal with there'll be an early trade deal with the united states. that couldn't be

more important 2010 downing street. on the other hand, she's going to come here and say, i don't agree with you about iran and she might also have to come here and say, by the way, one of our trident missiles was heading your way instead of somewhere else. 0k! we'll somewhere else. ok! we'll leave it there! talk to you again later. and just to say that tonight at 7pm we start a new series covering donald trump's first acts as president, the brexit effect and much more. that's 100 days with katty kay live in washington and christian fraser in london. the inquest into the deaths of 30 british people murdered by an islamist gunman in tunisia two years ago has begun hearing evidence about the victims. richard galpin is at the court and has been listening to the evidence. the witness statements we have had

so far, one of them i want to single out because it's very important. it's come from a man called mark hornby, one of the survivors of the attack in tunisia back injune 2015. he was on holiday, like so many others, at this resort with his wife. he brought to light the fact that they booked their holiday at their local thompson travel agency, a last—minute thing recommended by friends. he said very explicitly that thomson had not given them any warning about the terrorist threat in the country at the time. that is of course very significant, one of the key issues of this inquest. he also said that he did not check the advice put online by the foreign office, the travel advice, which said it should only be essential travel, anybody going to that area at the time in most of the country. he said that he was not aware of

that advice and the fact that there was a website where you could get that information which is also very important. he went tonne talk about when they arrived at the hotel, he himself, as a former member of the armed forces he said, that he saw no security at all at the front of the hotel. he described it as being very different from other holidays he'd been on in potentially dangerous places like egypt and he said there was a rap itth ied reaction force in egypt. he said there was none of that in the tunisian area where he was. he said when it came to the attack, it was only local hotel staff, the entertainment team who actually tried to help people get off the beach as this horrific attack was under way. he said he saw three tourists being killed, falling to the ground immediately as they we re to the ground immediately as they were shot dead, and said, for 40 minutes he believed the gunman had

free reign at the hotel, so a very strong indictment of in areas of this investigation. rescue teams are continuing to search for 23 people who are still missing after a hotel in central italy was swamped by an avalanche last wednesday. nine survivors have been pulled alive from the ruins so far. yesterday rescuers found the body of a man, taking the death toll to six. the hotel — located at the foot of a mountain — was hit by an avalanche triggered by an earthquake. we are expecting an urgent question in the house of commons. michael fallon will be answering an urgent question on trident after a downing street spokesperson refused to come or deny reports of a missile malfunction during a test. you are watching bbc news. let's catch up with the weather. fog, low cloud and sunshine is on

the weather menu. sunshine in scotla nd the weather menu. sunshine in scotland around midlothian area. overnight, fog will reform across parts of england in particular. the worst areas perhaps east wales, central southern england, to the midlands and visibility in this zone could dip below 100 metres at times. it will be cold for england and wales. scotland and northern ireland, mild with patches of rain. lowest temperatures around england and wales. minus four is common in the cold spots, minus six a possibility. tomorrow there is the prospect of transport disruption from this lingering loitering fog. by from this lingering loitering fog. by the afternoon, some brighter weather will be coming through across a good part of england and wales. scotland and northern ireland having a cloudy day. with atlantic winds coming in, it will be around 10 degrees. hello.

this is bbc news. the headlines: defence secretary michael fallon is due to answer an urgent parliamentary question on trident, after a downing street spokesperson refused to confirm or deny reports that a missile malfunctioned during a test. the director of gchq, robert hannigan, has announced that he is stepping down. in a statement, he said he was resigning from the british "personal reasons". sinn fein announces its new leader at stormont will be michelle o'neill. she paid tribute to her predecessor martin mcguinness and said she will not "let down" voters in upcoming elections. an independent report into the death of dean saunders — a mentally—ill man who took his own life in chelmsford prison last year — has found staff failed to do enough to protect him, despite the risk that he might kill himself. the prime minister, theresa may, has unveiled a new industrial strategy aimed at boosting the post—brexit economy — and seeing the government stepping up to "a new, active role". time for a look at the sport.

nicola adams will make her professional boxing debut in three months‘ time. the double olympic champion successfully defended her flyweight title in rio last summer, and now wants to become a world champion in the pro ranks. she was the first woman to become a boxing champion in the olympics four yea rs boxing champion in the olympics four years ago and defined as her title at the rio games last summer. now i have to create my own team, but i am really excited about having my own team, knowing that we are all working together, all working to achieve the same goal, which is to make mea achieve the same goal, which is to make me a world champion and take women's boxing to the next level. hull city player ryan mason is said to be conscious, and able to talk, after undergoing surgery on a fractured skull.

mason clashed heads with chelsea's gary cahill in hull's 2—0 loss to the blues yesterday. our sports news correspondent richard conway is at st mary's hospital, where mason is being treated. ryan mason was admitted to st mary's hospital in central london on sunday following that clash of heads with gary cahill. he underwent surgery last evening and today, hull city confirmed that following that surgery, he has been talking of the incident and saying he will be assessed by medical staff over the coming days. so it seems that is positive news for ryan mason following that fractured skull that he sustained. two other bits of news on this. gary cahill, who was involved in the incident, we understand he visited the hospital last night and was unable to see ryan mason in person, but he spent some time with the family. john terry went with him. finally, headway, the brain injury charity, have praised both sets of medical staff for chelsea

and hull city for what they say was an exemplary reaction to the incident which occurred. play stopped for nine minutes, and headway say it was dealt with in a timely and good manner. they say that should be seen by other levels of football as the way to deal with such a serious injury when it occurs on the field of play. johanna konta's dominant form in the australian open continues, as she reached the quarter finals, brushing aside russia's ekaterina makarova in straight sets. but as all the sport we have time for. time to go to the house of commons for the urgent question on trident. mr speaker, in june last year, the royal navy conducted a demonstration and shakedown operation, designed to certify hms vengeance and her crew, prior to their return to operations. this included a routine unarmed

trident missile test launch. contrary to reports in the weekend press, hms vengeance and her crew we re press, hms vengeance and her crew were successfully tested and certified as ready to rejoin the operational cycle. we do not comment on the detail of submarine operations. i can, on the detail of submarine operations. ican, however, on the detail of submarine operations. i can, however, assured the house that during any test—firing the safety of the crew and public is paramount and is never compromised. prior to conducting a trident test fire, the united kingdom strictly adheres to all releva nt treaty kingdom strictly adheres to all relevant treaty obligations, notifying relevant nations and other interested parties. here, the chairman of the defence select committee, the opposition defence spokesperson and chairman of the public accounts committee were informed in advance. i can assure

the house that the capability and effectiveness of the united kingdom's independent nuclear deterrent is not in doubt. the government has absolute confidence in our deterrent and in the royal navy crews who protect us and our nato allies every hour of every day. i thank the secretary of state for his answer. he will know that i am a strong believer in this country's independent nuclear deterrent. in re ce nt independent nuclear deterrent. in recent decades, there have been major inroads made to transparency over nuclear issues amongst the public, an important message in terms of maintaining consensus and support of our independent nuclear deterrent. included in that has been the openness about the test launching is in florida. can i ask the secretary of state with regard

to the latest test, he will have seen the press at the weekend and the claims that the missile veered off towards the united states. could he confirm whether that was the case? could he confirm whether that was the case ? could he he confirm whether that was the case? could he also tell the house when he was first informed that there was a problem with the test and when his department informed the den prime minister david cameron of the problem? could he also said whether it was him or the prime minister david cameron at the time who took the decision in his department to shelve the customary practice of publicising the test and ordering a news blackout? finally, can he say what discussions he has had with the present prime minister about this test and white it was not relayed to parliament before the debate on the success of submarine programme last july? can debate on the success of submarine programme lastjuly? can i finish by paying tribute to the members of our armed forces, who for the last 48 years have maintained operation

relentless, which has maintained our continuous at sea deterrent. relentless, which has maintained our continuous at sea deterrentlj relentless, which has maintained our continuous at sea deterrent. i am grateful to the honourable gentleman andi grateful to the honourable gentleman and i appreciate that he not only ta kes a and i appreciate that he not only takes a close interest in defence and has born responsibility for the defence of our country and is a supporter of the deterrent. i have to say, though, that i disagree with him on his call for greater transparency in these matters. there are very transparency in these matters. there are very few things that we cannot discuss openly in parliament, but the security of our nuclear deterrent is certainly one of them. it has never been the practice of governments to give parliament details of the demonstration and shakedown operations. details of the demonstration and sha kedown operations. there details of the demonstration and shakedown operations. there have been previous examples where some publicity has been decided on a case—by—case basis, informed by the

circumstances at the time and by national security considerations. sir nicholas sons. would my right honourable friend agree with me that there is no evidence of systemic failure anywhere in the system, and would he confirm that he, like me when i was minister for the armed forces, have total confidence in our trident defences as being both deadly and reliable? trident defences as being both deadly and reliable ?|j trident defences as being both deadly and reliable? i can certainly confirm that, and i repeat to the house that hms vengeance successfully certified and has passed the test that was set, and has therefore rejoin the operational cycle a nd has therefore rejoin the operational cycle and is part of that operational cycle today. near griffith. mr speaker, i am grateful to the secretary of state for his

answers, but i am sorry it has taken allegations in a sunday paper and an urgent question to bring him to parliament this afternoon. let me be clear. we are not asking the secretary of state to disclose any sensitive or inappropriate detail. all we want is clarity and transparency. yesterday, the prime minister refused four times on live television to say when she became aware of the details of this missile test. today, number ten admitted that the prime minister was told about this incident as soon as she took office, and yet when she came took office, and yet when she came to this house on the 18th ofjuly to call on members to back the renewal of britain's nuclear submarines, she did not say a word. this isjust not good enough. the british public deserve the facts on a matter as important as britain's nuclear deterrent, and they deserve to hear those facts from their prime minister, not in allegations

sprawled across a sunday paper. so cani sprawled across a sunday paper. so can i ask the secretary of state a simple question — why was this information deliberately kept from parliament and the british public? who made the decision to keep this incident quiet? was it his department or number ten? and whilst respecting the limits of what he can disclose, can he at least set out what investigation his department has carried out into what happened injune? and has carried out into what happened in june? and what assurances has carried out into what happened injune? and what assurances can he give that there will be no future cover—ups on important matters like this? at the heart of this issue is a worrying lack of transparency, and a worrying lack of transparency, and a prime minister who has chosen to cover up a serious a prime minister who has chosen to cover up a serious incident rather than coming clean with the british public. this house, and more importantly the british public deserve better. let me be very clear. neither i nor the prime minister are going to give operational details of our submarine

operations or of the systems and su bsystems operations or of the systems and subsystems that are tested through a demonstration and shakedown operation. she asked me very specifically about the prime minister's knowledge. the prime minister's knowledge. the prime minister has ultimate responsibility for our nuclear deterrent, and she is kept informed as to how the nuclear deterrent is maintained, including the successful return of hms vengeance to the operational cycle. drjulian lewis. is the secretary of state telling us that nothing went wrong on this particular launch? while accepting that the nuclear deterrent needs to be shrouded in secrecy, it also needs to deter. and once stories get out there that a missile may have failed, isn't it better to be frank about it, especially if it has no

strategic significance, as in this case, it probably has none? sir craig oliver vehemently denies that he orany craig oliver vehemently denies that he or any other members of david cameron's media team ever knew about the aborted trident test. so will the aborted trident test. so will the secretary of state tell us when mrcameron the secretary of state tell us when mr cameron was told about it, when he himself was told about it, and will he accept an invitation to attend the defence committee tomorrow morning to resolve any outstanding issues in closed session for some questions if need be? as i have said, the details of the demonstration and shakedown operation, i am demonstration and shakedown operation, iam not demonstration and shakedown operation, i am not going to discuss publicly on the floor of this house. all i can do is repeat that hms vengeance has successfully been

certified to rejoin the operational cycle. so far as the prime minister is concerned, i have already a nswered is concerned, i have already answered the responsibility of the prime minister and made it clear that the previous prime minister and this prime minister were of course informed about the maintenance of the nuclear deterrent and the outcome of the test and the successful return of hms vengeance to the operational cycle. the basic rule of deterrent is that it has to be both credible and capable. given the sensational revelations, it is safe to assume that trident is neither. given that one of the uk's nuclear missiles has got to this state, it is an insult to our intelligence to try and claim, as the government has, that trident's

capability is unquestionable. there is, however, an equally serious matter, and this is the deliberate withholding of information from this house ahead of the commons vote on the renewal lastjuly. house ahead of the commons vote on the renewal last july. it house ahead of the commons vote on the renewal lastjuly. it is outrageous that this house had to rely on a leaked to a sunday newspaper to find out about this and the subsequent cover—up. can the secretary of state tell me, when did he first find out about this missile failure? was it he who informed the new prime minister about the failure? and who took the decision not to inform parliament of this incident? the honourable gentleman is of course opposed to the trident deterrent that has kept this country safe for so many years. let me first caution him against believing everything he has read in the weekend press. and let me repeat

that this government is in no doubt about the capability and effectiveness of our deterrent and would not have asked this house to endorse the principle of the deterrent and our plans to build four new submarines if there had been any question about the capability and effectiveness of our deterrent. sirjulian brazier. would my right honourable friend agree that secrecy and transparency are simply incompatible, and it is right that every british and indeed american and french government, our other nuclear allies, have always put secrecy first in this area?” agree with my honourable friend. as isaid to agree with my honourable friend. as i said to the house earlier, there are very i said to the house earlier, there are very few issues that cannot be discussed openly in this house, but the security of the nuclear deterrent is clearly a prime example

of something that cannot be discussed in detail. can the secretary of state confirm whether through the notice to airmen system or other warning systems, how enemies would have been aware of the failure of this test, and would he agree with me that four members of this house to be able to debate the merits of trident or its like—for—like replacement effectively, we need timely and security appropriate information and that we did not get it in this case? on the first point, the honourable gentleman may be aware that under our international treaty obligations, notice of any test—firing does have to be given to other countries and other interested parties. in the case of thejune test—firing, that was done. i don't agree with his latter point. the government would not have put the motion in front of this house last

july, had it had any doubt about the continuing capability and effectiveness of the deterrent. bob stewart. can i remind the house that the russians don't just contemplate using nuclear weapons, they practise their employment on their exercises. is it not crucial, therefore, that we retain our own independent nuclear deterrent to ensure that our potential enemies such as russia are deterred and think twice before they even contemplate using such a weapon of mass destruction? i am grateful to my honourable friend, and that indeed was the proposition put before this new parliament lastjuly and endorsed by 472 members of this house against a vote of only 170,

including of course the leader of the opposition. has the government instigated a leak inquiry to find out who the source for the sunday times was, and does it intend to do so? as! times was, and does it intend to do so? as i said, i am not confirming the speculation in the weekend press, and i would caution the house against believing everything they have read. could i ask the secretary of state whether the mod and our us partners have shared information about the test—firing and subsequent evaluation? this will be important to reassure our service people and also the public in our validity of the nuclear deterrent.” also the public in our validity of the nuclear deterrent. i understand why my honourable friend has asked that question, but i have to say that question, but i have to say that takes us into the detail of the operation of the nuclear deterrent, andi operation of the nuclear deterrent, and i am not going there. caroline

lucas. following on from that, the government continually refers to trident as the country's independent nuclear deterrent, yet the missile was manufactured and owned by the us, with a us guidance system and leasing arrangements. so it isn't an operational issue to tell us whether he has known that the malfunction la st he has known that the malfunction last year was reported at the time to the us president, nor whether the new president has been briefed about it, and nor who decided to cover it up, the uk government or the us. our trident nuclear deterrent is com pletely trident nuclear deterrent is completely operationally independent of the united states. in our country, only the prime minister can authorise the firing of these weapons, even if they are employed as part of an overall nato response. cani

as part of an overall nato response. can i congratulate my right honourable friend in the approach he has taken on this issue? i think the whole area of our independent nuclear deterrent is of crucial importance, andl nuclear deterrent is of crucial importance, and i think the argument that he has made about not being as open as he might perhaps have liked to be on the operational side is absolutely correct. i am grateful to my honourable friend. it may well be that earlier governments in different situations, indeed, in more benevolent times, might have taken different decisions about how much information they were prepared to reveal about these demonstration and sha kedown to reveal about these demonstration and shakedown operations. these are not, of course, as benevolent times, and the decision we have taken was not to release any information about the testing of all the systems and su bsystems the testing of all the systems and subsystems involved in the return to

operational cycle of hms vengeance. there is no doubt as to why the memberfor there is no doubt as to why the member for north east somerset wanted to have this in private, not just to keep our secrets from the russians, but to save the ministers and the prime minister the embarrassment. i have known the honourable gentleman long enough to know his naturally pugnacious spirit, but that must not elide into impugning the integrity of another honourable gentleman. order. the right honourable gentleman has had his bit of fun, but he must now wash his bit of fun, but he must now wash his mouth out, withdraw those words and put a question, for which the nation will be grateful.” and put a question, for which the nation will be grateful. i certainly withdraw any implication that the honourable member was worried about embarrassment to the minister. could the minister confirm whether that in

lord hennessy's book, the silent deep, there is a full description of a previous firing, so how is it an operational matter or a security threat simply to ask when the ministerand when threat simply to ask when the minister and when the prime minister we re minister and when the prime minister were made aware of the problem and why they decided to keep it quiet? on the first point, i have already made it clear that of course earlier governments, in different circumstances, have ta ken governments, in different circumstances, have taken different decisions not to share details with parliament but to release information publicly about the completion of these tests. we have to ta ke completion of these tests. we have to take our decision in the light of the circumstances that prevail at the circumstances that prevail at the time and the national security considerations. so faras the time and the national security considerations. so far as his second question is concerned, i have made it clear that both i and the prime minister are of course informed of nuclear matters at all times and in

particular of the successful return of hms vengeance to the operational cycle. i welcome the secretary of state's approach so far. in my view, these things should always be secret. but would he speculate with me why it should be that when the debate last year was on the renewal of the vanguard class of submarines, nothing to do with trident missiles, why under there those circumstances, there should be any suggestion that there should be any suggestion that the prime minister would have announced this? i have already said that the government would not have brought the motion before the house last year, had there been any doubt about the safety or effectiveness of the trident missile system. but he is right to remind the house that that vote and the huge majority that it secured was on the principle of our deterrent and the government's plan to renew our four submarines.

the essence of deterrence is uncertainty about when or whether or if missiles will be fired. can i ta ke if missiles will be fired. can i take it that the purpose of the statement today by the secretary of state is that he wishes to add to uncertainty, and therefore increase deterrence? to take his question seriously, he is right that the principle of deterrence, of course, is to leave your adversaries uncertain as to the circumstances in which you would employ it. but i have simply made clear to the house today that the outcome of the tests was a successful return by hms vengeance to the operational cycle. but i am not prepared to go into further operational details of the tests themselves. i welcome the

government's approach to this and i thank my right honourable friend for his reassurance over the effectiveness of the trident system. i wonder if he could confirm that there have been 160 successful firings of this missile, and that surely should reassure the british people more than the prospect of the leader of the opposition having his finger on the button. he is right to draw the attention of the house to the previous testing regime, and the house might want to know that the demonstration and shakedown operation is critical at intervals for demonstrating the effectiveness of the deterrent. it comprises a comprehensive series of system and su bsystem comprehensive series of system and subsystem tests, and it provides a period of intensive training for the submarine's crew. it evaluates the

complex weapon system involved in trident, including the performance of the crew, and it concludes each time with an unarmed missile firing. hms vengeance successfully concluded that shakedown operation. as a supporter of the deterrent, doesn't the secretary of state understand that a leak to a sunday newspaper, followed frankly by government stonewalling, doesn't enhance support for that deterrent, it undermines it? i can understand why the honourable gentleman, who is a supporter of the deterrent, has said that. but the security of our deterrent is absolutely paramount at a time like this. and whether he likes it or not, i am not going to respond to speculation about the tests that occurred lastjune, and i

am not going to give details of the particular operations of hms vengeance during the test. does my right honourable friend agree with me that the continuous at the nuclear deterrent has kept us free from aggression day in, day out since 1968, and that we owe a huge debt of gratitude to the men and women that operate it?” wholeheartedly endorse that, and i hope that would at least be common ground. the nuclear deterrent has played its part in keeping this country played its part in keeping this cou ntry safe played its part in keeping this country safe through a series of continuous at sea patrols, seven days a week, 52 weeks a year. and i join my honourable friend in paying tribute to the crews of all four of our nuclear submarines. there is now

a question about the effectiveness of our nuclear deterrent. this in itself undermines our national security. we need to send a clear message that our deterrent is still able to do itsjob. i urge the secretary of state to accept the invitation of the select defence committee and reassure us and the house that our deterrent is fit for purpose. let me reassure the honourable lady, who does follow these matters closely... studio: ok, many questions around the same issue — who knew what and when. michael fallon said he will not answer specifics because of national security reasons. theresa may has been asked about that. she has been asked about industrial strategy as well by eleanor garnier, but she does talk about trident after that. let's hear from her. i think we are

ina bit let's hear from her. i think we are in a bit of let's hear from her. i think we are ina bit ofa let's hear from her. i think we are in a bit of a vault. prime minister, this is a very active, very interventionist industrial strategy. is it right that the government is so involved in business? aren't you going to end up backing winners? no, this isn't about backing winners. this is about creating the right conditions for the future economy for the uk. as we leave the european union, i for the uk. as we leave the european union, lam for the uk. as we leave the european union, i am ambitious for the opportunities that are available to us, building the truly global britain. but we need to ensure that our economy is working for everyone and in every part of the country. this is about saying, how can we create that environment? how can we build on the strengths we already have in different parts of the uk