THE Navy was facing demands for answers last night after two nuclear submarines crashed in the middle of the Atlantic.

HMS Vanguard and French sub Le Triomphant – both believed to have been carrying nuclear warheads – were damaged in the crash earlier this month.

The First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band, said the incident happened at low speed and no-one was injured.

The Government also stressed that there had been no nuclear leak, and the UK’s deterrent had not been compromised at any stage.

But opposition parties asked how the accident was possible. Despite being equipped with state-of-the-art sonar equipment, neither submarine apparently realised the other was in the same part of the ocean.

Shadow defence secretary Dr Liam Fox said it was a “relief” that no-one had been injured.

“For two submarines to collide while apparently unaware of each other’s presence is extremely worrying,” he said. “Hopefully lessons have been learned to prevent anything like this ever happening again.” HMS Vanguard was said to have had visible damage when it returned to Faslane on Saturday.