Warships merely making routine visit

The British High Commission has reassured the public that the British naval vessels' visit to Malta would be a routine one.

The high commission was contacted following claims by Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici that the presence of the warships later this month could attract retaliation in the case of conflict in Iraq, while Alternattiva Demokratika expressed concern that the vessels may be carrying nuclear weapons.

Dr Mifsud Bonnici said it was highly imprudent of the government to accept the visit of the two British warships, the Ark Royal and the Southampton, on the "pretext" of marking the anniversary of the convoy of Santa Maria.

He said such a visit was a potential big risk, especially since the UK was on the verge of war with Iraq.

"While it remains UK policy to neither confirm nor deny whether our ships or submarines are carrying nuclear weapons, following the Strategic Defence Review, the British Government made clear that the UK's only nuclear weapon is vested entirely in the Trident weapons system. Nothing other than a Vanguard-Class ballistic missile submarine can carry the ballistic missile involved," the high commission said about AD's claim.

"HMS Ark Royal and HMS Southampton are engaged on Exercise Argonaut 02, a regular and routine deployment of British, Dutch and Belgian forces to the Mediterranean that has been planned for over two years.

"Exercise Argonaut 02 includes visits to a number of countries in the region including France, Portugal, Greece, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Tunisia, Croatia, Gibraltar, and of course, Malta, where HMS Ark Royal and HMS Southampton will help commemorate the important 60th anniversary of Operation Pedestal."

It also pointed out that HMS Ark Royal and HMS Southampton are not stationed in Malta but were merely making a routine visit during peacetime, commemorating an event that helped achieve peace over 60 years ago.