The UK's nuclear deterrent “remains the most reliable weapons system in the World” despite an embarrassing test firing failure, Grant Shapps said.

       The Defence Secretary, who was on board HMS Vanguard when the missile crashed into the ocean moments after being fired, insisted “there are no implications” for Britain’s security.

       The Ministry of Defence said it was an “anomaly” during the test firing off the coast of Florida on January 30.

       Tobias Ellwood, the former Chair of the Defence Select Committee, claimed the missile failed because training equipment was fitted and “prevented the firing of the rocket system”.

       But it is the second time in a row a Trident II D5 missile has failed, though the cause of the 2016 is not believed to be linked.

       Vanguard class submarine (Image: Getty)

       The Trident missile landed near HMS Vanguard (Image: Getty)

       Grant Shapps declared: “The test reaffirmed the effectiveness of the UK’s nuclear deterrent, in which the government has absolute confidence. The submarine and crew were successfully certified and will rejoin the operational cycle as planned.

       “On this occasion, an anomaly did occur, but it was event specific and there are no implications for the reliability of the wider Trident missile systems and stockpiles.

       “Nor are there any implications for our ability to fire our nuclear weapons, should the circumstances arise in which we need to do so.

       “The Trident missile system remains the most reliable weapons system in the world, having successfully completed more than 190 tests.

       “The government has absolute confidence that the UK’s deterrent remains effective, dependable, and formidable.”

       The missile’s first stage boosters are said to have failed and did not ignite. Fitted with dummy warheads, it then “plopped” into the Atlantic Ocean.

       First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Ben Key was also on the submarine with Mr Shapps at the time.

       Lord Alan West, the former head of the Royal Navy, insisted: “The UK Trident is still fully operational and devastatingly accurate”.

       Defence Secretary Grant Shapps has insisted the UK's nuclear deterrent is formidable (Image: Getty)

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       Tobias Ellwood, the former Chair of the Defence Select Committee, said: “I've done some investigations here. I understand it was some equipment that was actually attached to the missile itself that prevented the firing of the rocket system after the missile had left the submarine.

       “As a drill, what the sailors went through, the actual protocols and so forth which were followed to gear up to the firing, all went according to plan but the actual rocket didn't fire because of the testing equipment.

       “Now of course were this to be fired in anger you wouldn't have that testing equipment strapped on to the missile itself and therefore, yes, of course, this is embarrassing. We don't like to see this happen.”

       The incident comes at a time of high global tension, with a war raging in the Middle East and Russia's invasion of Ukraine approaching its two-year anniversary.

       HMS Vanguard is one of four of the so-called Vanguard-class nuclear submarines that first went on patrol in 1994, with one of the vessels continually at sea.

       They carry the American-built Trident 2 D5 nuclear missiles, the mainstay of Britain's strategic nuclear deterrent.

       A Trident missile can be fired at targets up to 4,000 miles away and at its fastest can travel at more than 13,000 miles an hour, according to the Royal Navy.

       They are 13 metres long, weigh 130,000lb (58,500kg) and are ejected from the submarine by high-pressured gas before they fire as they reach the surface of the water.

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       Each Vanguard-class submarine can hold up to 16 intercontinental ballistic missiles, but will only carry up to eight Trident rockets and up to 40 nuclear warheads.

       The V-class is due to be replaced by the bigger Dreadnought-class submarines in the 2030s.

       Between ￡31 billion and ￡41 billion has been set aside for the wider programme of replacing the Vanguard-class submarines, according to figures from the House of Commons Library.

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