Storing and maintaining Britain’s 19 laid-up nuclear submarines has cost taxpayers nearly £16m over the last five years, it has emerged.

The out-of-service vessels have been stored at Rosyth in Fife since 1980 and Devonport in Plymouth since 1994.

Campaigners have raised concerns about the hulks’ safety, blaming a “lack of decision” for the delay in dismantling.

