LONDON — Prime Minister Theresa May
of Britain refused to comment on Sunday about the reported failure of
an unarmed British Trident missile that was test-fired from a submarine off the
coast of Florida last June.Mrs. May said she had “absolute faith in our Trident
missiles” in a television interview with the BBC, but she would not say
whether she had known about the failure or whether, as The Sunday Times of
London reported, it had been covered up by Downing Street under her
predecessor, David Cameron, shortly before the referendum on Britain’s
exit from the European Union.
Mrs. May did not mention any missile failure
in her first major speech to Parliament on July 18, when she persuaded
Parliament to spend up to 40 billion pounds, or about $53 billion then, on
four new submarines to keep Britain’s nuclear deterrent up-to-date.“There are
tests that take place all the time, regularly, for our nuclear deterrence,” she
said on Sunday. “What we were talking about in that debate that took place was
about the future.”
The Sunday Times reported that the Trident II
D5 missile, which was designed to carry a nuclear warhead but was unarmed for
the test, had veered off course after being fired from HMS Vengeance, one of
Britain’s four aging nuclear-armed submarines.The British Navy had not
performed such a test for four years because of the expense of the missile, but
had carried out tests in 2000, 2005, 2009 and 2012, all of which had been
successful and publicized by the Ministry of Defense. The current test took
place after the submarine had been refitted with new missile launch equipment
and upgraded computer systems.
Replacing Trident has been controversial in
Britain because of the cost and because the current leader of the Labour
Party, Jeremy Corbyn, long an antinuclear campaigner, is opposed to
retaining Britain’s nuclear deterrent, while his party’s official position has
been to retain and renew it.“It’s a pretty catastrophic error when a missile
goes in the wrong direction, and while it wasn’t armed, goodness knows what the
consequences of that could have been,” Mr. Corbyn said on Sunday.
Speaking to Sky News, he said, “We understand
the prime minister chose not to inform Parliament, and instead it came out
through the media.” He repeated his belief that Britain should commit to
nuclear disarmament.Kevan Jones, a Labour member of Parliament and a former
defense minister, called for an inquiry into the failed missile test. “The
U.K.’s independent nuclear deterrent is a vital cornerstone for the nation’s
defense,” he said. It is likely that Parliament will ask Defense Secretary
Michael Fallon to answer questions about the report.
Separately, Mrs. May confirmed that she would
meet with President Trump in Washington on Friday in the first visit of a
foreign leader to the new president, a traditional prize that Britain has been
seeking avidly. She said she would emphasize to Mr. Trump the importance of the
NATO military alliance, calling it a “bulwark” of the West, and would say that
Britain favors the progress and cohesion of the European Union, even though the
country plans to leave the bloc.
Trade will be an important topic, she said,
with Britain wanting new free-trade agreements with key countries, including
the United States, after it leaves the European Union. Mr. Trump, a supporter
of “Brexit,” as Britain’s departure from the bloc is known, has said that he is
open to early talks on such a deal with Britain. Legally, no new deal can be
made until Britain formally leaves the European Union, which is unlikely for at
least two years.
Mr. Trump’s slogan of “America First” and
his protectionist comments may mean that a trade deal will be difficult
to negotiate despite the good will expressed by both sides.Mrs. May was asked
about Mr. Trump’s attitudes toward women. “I’ve already said that some of the
comments that Donald Trump has made in relation to women are
unacceptable, some of those he himself has apologized for,” she said.When she
meets Mr. Trump, she said, “I think the biggest statement that will be made
about the role of women is the fact that I will be there as a female prime
minister.”
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