Complaint
A viewer queried a statement by an interviewee to the effect that the UK always had a Vanguard submarine deployed and ready to fire a nuclear weapon at 15 minutes’ notice. While the system was capable of firing at between 15 and 30 minutes’ notice, this did not reflect its current state of readiness.
Outcome
The ECU accepted that, under current arrangements, several days’ notice of firing would be required, but noted that a Commons Research Briefing Paper of May 2023 said “the system…could still be brought rapidly to readiness at a time of crisis if a political decision were taken to do so”. In the light of this, and taking account of its context in the programme, the ECU did not consider the interviewee’s statement likely to have misled viewers materially.
Not upheld