British PM under fire over Trident row

British Prime Minister Theresa May has been grilled over an alleged cover-up of a reportedly failed missile test.

On Monday, the prime minister confirmed that she had been informed of last year's Trident missile test when she came into office in July 2016.

However, on Sunday, the prime minister refused to answer questions over what she knew about the test. Media reports claimed there had been a cover-up of the incident.

The Sunday Times had reported that a Trident II D5 missile veered off course after being launched off the coast of the United States in June.

The alleged failure happened weeks before the British Parliament voted in favor of the new 40-billion-pound (43 billion U.S. dollar) Trident submarines.

Media reports said the vote occurred days after May was sworn in as the new prime minister, but she did not mention the test as she set out the case for renewing the Trident system in a Commons speech.

Defense secretary Michael Fallon on Monday told the Commons he had "absolute confidence" in the system but refused to give more details about the failed mission.

Members of Parliament of Labour and the Scottish National Party have urged the government to be more transparent on the issue.

Shadow defense secretary Nia Griffith said that at the heart of this issue was a worrying lack of transparency and a prime minister who'd chosen to cover up a serious incident, rather than coming clean with the British public.

"This House, and more importantly the British public, deserve better," she added.

Other opposition members in Parliament urged the government to be frank about the incident. Endit