- Five officers on board HMS Vigilant have threatened to resign
- Comes after reports of affairs between first and second-in-command with two different women
- HMS Vigilant is one of four British nuclear-armed Vanguard submarines
Five officers on board a British nuclear-armed submarine have threatened to resign amid reports of a love scandal involving the captain and his second-in-command.
HMS Vigilant was submerged below the North Atlantic when reports of the high-ranking submarine officials having sexual relations with two different women emerged – something which is forbidden between two serving personnel on the same vessel.
The incident came to light after a member of the crew alerted senior officials at the vessel’s base in Faslane, near Glasgow.
The allegations have sparked anger among crew members, with five threatening to resign when their boat completed its patrol and docked in the US, a source has told The Times.
HMS Vigilant is one of four British nuclear-armed Vanguard submarines on active patrol which provide protection to the UK in case of a nuclear war.
Stuart Armstrong (pictured) has been suspended from his post after an alleged affair with a female junior officer
Stuart Armstrong, 41, commanding officer of the Vanguard-class submarine HMS Vigilant, has been relieved of duties while he is under investigation.
And just yesterday it emerged his second is command has also been relieved of his duties while an investigation into alleged sexual affairs with a separate female officer emerged.
A Navy source told The Times: ‘A group of officers threatened to resign as soon as the boat reached the US and the CO and XO were then relieved of their command.’
Another source added: ‘The trouble is with something of this magnitude it can destroy the camaraderie that goes with the officer corps. The code was put there specifically to stop this happening.’
It was only six years ago that a ban preventing female officers serving on submarines was lifted.
Armstrong has only been in charge of HMS Vigilant since February this year after serving on HMS Artful from December 2015.
A Royal Navy spokesman said the incident had not affected submarine operations.
He said: ‘We can confirm an investigation is underway, but it would be inappropriate to comment further at this stage. Any allegations of wrongdoing are taken very seriously and will be dealt with appropriately.’
Five crew members on board HMS Vigilant have threatened to resign following allegations of sexual relations between two leading male officers