'Nuclear submarine' Royal Navy documents 'found in Wetherspoons'

Official ‘nuclear submarine’ Royal Navy documents are ‘found on the floor of a Wetherspoons toilet cubicle’

• Files with details about HMS Anson were left in The Furness Railway in Cumbria
• HMS Anson dubbed ‘one of most sophisticated underwater vessels ever built’

Official documents about a £1.3billion Royal Navy ‘nuclear submarine’ were reportedly found on the floor of a Wetherspoons toilet cubicle. 

It’s understood that the files carrying information about HMS Anson – dubbed by the Government as ‘one of the most sophisticated underwater vessels ever built’ – were left in the toilets of The Furness Railway in Barrow, Cumbria. 

The Sun claimed that the documents showed the inner workings of the submarine and were used by submariners learning how to isolate and depressurise elements of its system. 

However, the Royal Navy has said the papers were generic resources and did not contain any classified information. 

A source told the MailOnline the documents did not contain information specific to that submarine. 

Official documents about £1.3billion Royal Navy ‘nuclear submarine’ HMS Anson (pictured) were reportedly found on the floor of a Wetherspoons toilet cubicle

It’s claimed the files carrying information about HMS Anson were left in the toilets of The Furness Railway (pictured) in Barrow, Cumbria

The pub was packed when the files, marked ‘official sensitive’, were discovered on the floor of a cubicle, according to The Sun. 

A source told the outlet: ‘It was quite a lively night. The pub was full of people from the docks — military and civilian. I went into the toilet and the plans were lying on the floor of the cubicle with the lanyard.

‘Anyone could have found them.’

The Furness Railway is a short distance from a BAE systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, where the submarine has previously been pictured. 

Named after Admiral George Anson, HMS Anson is the fifth of the new Astute-class attack submarines to join the Royal Navy fleet. 

The vessels are capable of firing tomahawk missiles and described as the ‘largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines’ ever used in the navy on its website. 

Powered by a Rolls-Royce nuclear reactor, the boat can also operate for 25 years without refuelling. 

When the submarine departed Barrow-in-Furness for sea trials in Clyde in February, Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: ‘HMS Anson will play a vital role in defending the UK, providing a competitive edge for decades to come, and I am proud to see her make her journey up to her permanent home on the Clyde.

‘Supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the UK, our Astute-Class submarines are a leading example of our commitment to defence manufacturing, continuing to boost British industry for decades to come.’

The vessels are capable of firing tomahawk missiles and described as the ‘largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines’ ever used in the navy. (file image of a tomahawk missile)

The Furness Railway (pictured) is a short distance from a BAE systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, where the submarine has previously been seen

A naval source said: ‘These documents enable submariners and contractors to understand how systems interact. They do not detail how they work, just that they exist.’ 

They added that the files only contained simplistic designs of the systems on board, without revealing how they work. 

A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘These are generic training documents that carry no classified information. 

‘However, we take all security matters extremely seriously and will investigate the circumstances of their discovery.’ 

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