THE Ministry of Defence has put Royal Navy divers at risk of drowning by making them use dangerous US equipment that has a history of fatal accidents, an investigation by the Morning Star has found.

Britain’s elite Special Boat Service (SBS) has a fleet of US-made miniature submarines for covertly infiltrating foreign waters and deploying divers behind enemy lines.

Although the ultra-secret unit is exempt from Britain’s Freedom of Information Act, which has a loophole for special forces, the same equipment is used by US navy Seals who are more transparent than their British counterparts.