by Lamiat Sabin

A ROYAL Navy whistleblower who published an online dossier of safety and security concerns about the Trident nuclear programme revealed he had been given a “dishonourable discharge” yesterday.

William McNeilly went absent without leave last month after compiling an 18-page file about the Trident submarines at Faslane, the Clyde naval base in Scotland.

His report alleged 30 safety and security flaws on the vessels and he described them as a “disaster waiting to happen.”

But the navy said that his notes were “subjective and unsubstantiated” and added that it takes safety extremely seriously.

Royal Navy police arrested the 25-year-old able seaman and submariner from Belfast at Edinburgh Airport on May 17 and detained him at a Scottish military base after his claims made headlines.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon raised the case in the Commons and said that the safety allegations were either “incorrect or the result of misunderstanding.”

Mr McNeilly said that he had refused to sign a document that would discredit his allegations.

He wrote yesterday in an online post: “Most people know that I acted in the interest of national security.

“However, I was still given a dishonourable discharge from the Royal Navy. On the claim that my sole aim was to discredit their public image. The truth is, I view the Royal Navy as the greatest navy in history.”

He added: “People should read the report before they judge it.”

More naval concerns will be exposed as staff — including high-ranking figures — have been anonymously releasing information to journalists, according to Mr McNeilly.

Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament general secretary Kate Hudson said: “It remains unclear how, in less than a month, the Royal Navy can have thoroughly investigated what appear to be systemic issues.

“From submariners cheating in safety exams to lax security processes at Faslane — not to mention poor protocols on board Vanguard-class submarines, which McNeilly alleged could have led to a nuclear blast as well as giving him access to top secret information — none of these are one-off issues which can be explained away or dismissed out of hand.”

She added: “As long as nuclear weapons remain, we are playing with fire.”