Spain 'barred from seeing sub damage'

MADRID, Spain -- Spanish technicians who inspected a stranded British nuclear submarine in Gibraltar were not allowed to check the reactor's damaged cooling system, Spain's Nuclear Security Council (CSN) said on Saturday.

The technicians saw all other "non-restricted" parts of the Tireless submarine and plans for the repairs of its reactor, the cooling system of which sprang a leak in May.

"Military restrictions impeded access to the nuclear reactor and its control panel," the CSN said in a statement.

Tireless, one of a 12-strong fleet of nuclear-powered submarines equipped with conventional weapons, limped into Gibraltar with a faulty cooling system in its reactor.

Juan Carlos Lentijo, one of the two Spanish technicians, told Spanish National Radio that he had seen nothing that posed a threat to people living near Gibraltar, a British colony on Spain's south coast.

Local people fear contamination from the submarine and have been campaigning for it to be transported back to Britain for repair.

British Prime Minister Tony Blair said in Madrid last week that such an operation would be far too complex and that the sub would have to be repaired in Gibraltar.

The four-hour inspection on Friday was the first time Spanish authorities had been allowed on to the vessel. Britain initially ignored requests from Madrid for Spanish officials to board the Tireless.

The inspection was agreed last week by the Spanish government and Blair, prompting Gibraltar Prime Minister Peter Caruana to complain on Friday of unacceptable interference in the British colony's internal affairs.

As a result of the Tireless fault, all British Royal Navy "Hunter Killer" submarines were recalled for safety checks.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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