Royal Navy: Sailor under investigation accused of stealing documents from nuclear submarine, reports say

The Sun reports that Able Seaman Marcus Gauntlett was held by officers on suspicion of breaking the Official Secrets Act. Police at HMNB Clyde in Faslane, Scotland, allegedly found secret papers on his Huawei mobile phone, the national publication said.

Gauntlett, 36, was on a nuclear-armed Vanguard-class submarine and served as a steward. Military police seized the device as part of a separate investigation, The SUn sources said.

The news outlet reports that investigators have ruled out espionage, with sailors being banned from taking phones onto submarines over fears of spying. A Ministry of Defence spokesperson confirmed to The Sun that an individual from the armed forces is under investigation.

In 2012, a Royal Navy submariner, Edward Devenney, was jailed after trying to pass secrets to the Russians that could have undermined national security. He was sentenced to eight years in prison. The people Devenney tried to meet were not Russian agents but MI5 agents posing as illicit figures.