The UK government is facing new questions about the failure of an unarmed nuclear missile during a test firing off the US coast last June, IBTimes UK revealed on Wednesday (1 February).

The SNP's defence spokesman at Westminster, Brendan O'Hara, disclosed that he has asked the Ministry of Defence (MoD) a dozen questions about the so called "shakedown operation".

More from IBTimes UK

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon told MPs that Trident submarine HMS Vengeance and its crew were "successfully certified" despite the D5 missile reportedly veering off course towards the Florida mainland.

But Fallon failed to confirm or deny whether the Lockheed Martin missile automatically diverted itself into the sea to self-destruct.

The revelation of the misfire, first reported in The Sunday Times, caused a political uproar since MPs were not informed about the operation ahead of a vote in the Home of Commons on the £40bn ($50bn) renewal of Trident.

The row was knocked off the top of the news agenda in the UK after the government lost a landmark case at the Supreme Court over Brexit.

But O'Hara has vowed to maintain the pressure on Fallon and the government over the Trident test. "They are hiding behind 'national security' and desperately trying to say nothing," he said.

"We are not letting this go, we realise there's an awful lot happen in terms of Brexit, but that's not an excuse that the government can just pretend that this never happened."

The questions include whether the missile's guidance systems was tested during the operation and at what point Fallon was informed of the misfire.

A source close to the Defence Select Committee, chaired by Julian Lewis, told IBTimes UK that the group is still deciding on their response to the incident after holding an emergency evidence session with former First Sea Lord Admiral Lord West.

Green co-leader Caroline Lucas is also planning on pressing the government with more parliamentary questions, a source close to the Brighton Pavilion MP told IBTimes UK.

Dr Jeffrey Lewis, of the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey in California, has described the D5 Trident missile as "remarkably reliable", with Lockheed Martin boasting of more than 150 successful tests in 2015.

O'Hara's questions

  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what point after the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise was he advised that the Trident D5 II missile launched by HMS Vanguard had not completed its test as planned.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence at what point after the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise did he advise the former Prime Minister that the Trident D5 II missile launched by HMS Vanguard had not completed its test as planned.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how soon after she became took office was the Prime Minister informed that the Trident D5 II missile launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise had not completed its test as planned.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, was it he who briefed the new Prime Minister that a Trident D5 II launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise had not completed its test as planned.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence after the 2016 DASO exercise was he part of the discussion in which it was decided not to inform Parliament that the Trident D5 II missile, launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise had not completed its test as planned.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence according to what criteria the decision was reached not to make public the fact that the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise had not been completed as planned, given that news of successful Defence and Shakedown Operations (DASO) is customarily made public.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what was the age of the Trident D5 II missile that was launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the problem that led to the Trident D5 II missile not being able to completing its test after being launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise has now been identified.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, since being unable to complete its test after being launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise, what work has been carried out by the manufacturers on other Trident D5 II missiles to ensure that this doesn't happen again.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, as of January 2017, how much public money has been spent identifying and repairing the fault that led to the Trident D5 II missile not being able to completing its test after being launched as part of the 2016 Demonstration And Shakedown Operation (DASO) exercise.
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if there is or has been a fault with the navigation controls with the Trident D5 II missiles?
  • To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if the Inertial Guidance System' (IGS) on board the Trident D5 II missile was tested during the 2016 DASO exercise?
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