Gibraltar allows sub repairs

HMS Tireless brought fears of nuclear contamination with it

By Flora Botsford in Madrid

The Gibraltar government has agreed that a British nuclear submarine, which has been stuck in the port since May, can be repaired on site.

The UK Ministry of Defence in London delayed the repairs while the locally-elected government of Gibraltar considered a safety report by its own panel of experts.

HMS Tireless limped into port in May with a small crack in a cooling pipe near the submarine's nuclear reactor.

Ever since, a polite row has been brewing over who has the final say on repairs - the Ministry of Defence or Gibraltar's locally-elected government.

The latter now says it is satisfied with the information provided by its own panel of experts and the MoD that carrying out the repairs in Gibraltar poses no risk to public health or the environment.

After a series of protests in Gibraltar and southern Spain, it had been insisting on the submarine being transported back to Britain - a journey which the MoD had argued would be far more risky.

The Gibraltar government has stressed that if the MoD does decide to go ahead, the case of HMS Tireless should set no precedent for other nuclear vessels.