Trident could be vulnerable to cyber-attack, former defence secretary says

Des Browne says there can be no guarantee that UK will have a reliable nuclear deterrent unless it can be wholly protected from cyber-attacks

Britain's Trident nuclear weapons system may turn out to be obsolete unless David Cameron can offer assurances that it is wholly protected from cyber-attacks by a hostile state, the former defence secretary Des Browne has said.

As Cameron put the replacement of Trident at the heart of the defence review, Browne told the Guardian there could be no guarantee of a reliable deterrent without an "end-to-end" assessment of the cyber-threat to the system.