Royal Navy sailor accused of stealing secrets from nuclear submarine after 'documents found on phone'

22 July 2024, 14:03

A Royal Navy sailor has been accused of stealing secrets from a nuclear submarine.

Able Seaman Marcus Gauntlett is under investigation on suspicion of breaking the Official Secrets Act.

The alleged incident took place at the nuclear submarine base HMNB Clyde in Scotland.

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Gauntlett has been working as a steward on one of the Vanguard submarines that form the UK's nuclear deterrent.

Police took the phone as part of a separate investigation, and were stunned to find the materials, the Sun reported.

The classified files are said to be related to submarine movements.

Investigators are said to have ruled out espionage.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: "We can confirm that a member of the Armed Forces is under investigation."

The submarine service was rocked by scandal in 2012, when a nuclear submariner was jailed for eight years for trying to sell nuclear secrets to British MI5 agents pretending to be Russian spies.