This is the extraordinary moment the commander of a Royal Navy nuclear submarine is seen rowing with his superiors over a welcome home BBQ for his crew before they were forced into coronavirus quarantine.
Commander John Lewis held an impromptu party for the crew from the ‘hunter-killer’ sub HMS Trenchant alongside their boat at Devonport naval base after being at sea for two months.
He had been told to scrap the homecoming celebration as it was deemed ‘inappropriate’ while Britain was on lockdown in the fight against the coronavirus.
But Lewis had apparently ignored the order and went ahead with the DJ set and BBQ.
He is seen standing apart from the rest of the crew talking into his mobile phone soon after music blared out from a mobile disco.
Commander John Lewis had been told to scrap the homecoming celebration as it was deemed ‘inappropriate’ while Britain was on lockdown in the fight against the coronavirus and banned from such social events
But Lewis had apparently ignored the order and went ahead with the DJ set and BBQ. He is seen standing apart from the rest of the crew talking into his mobile phone soon after music blared out from a mobile disco in front of the crew (above)
Video shot by a member of the crew shows the commander talking briefly before hanging up with a flourish to loud cheers from his crew.
Lewis is now facing a disciplinary hearing and could be stripped of his command after what was understood to be a ‘terse exchange’ with his superiors.
They are said to be unhappy that he was seen countering their orders in front of junior crew. They had told him to call off BBQ on the jetty at the Royal Naval dockyard Devonport, Plymouth.
The incident is said to be one of a number of ‘errors of judgement’ being investigated by Navy chiefs.
Commander Lewis, who is in his 40s, took over command of the ‘hunter killer’ submarine less than a year ago.
The incident took place in the first week of April after the sub had been at sea for almost two months.
It had just returned from manoeuvres with the mission starting before the UK was put on lockdown to stop the spread of Covid-19.
Despite effectively self-isolating underwater the 150 crew were told they had to do the same at home for a further two weeks.
Commander Lewis arranged the BBQ and disco as a morale booster before shore leave.
‘The commanding officer decided that it would help cheer his men up after a long time at sea,’ the insider told MailOnline.
‘It was his way of letting them blow of steam after weeks at sea where they had been self isolating anyway. They were told on their return they had to self isolate for a further two weeks.
‘Unfortunately, some people higher in command saw this as a lapse of judgement given that most of the UK has been in lockdown and not allowed to have BBQs. It wasn’t seen as the right choice to throw a BBQ.
‘Senior officers take a dim view of a commander countering an order in front of junior members of the crew.’
Video shot by a member of the crew shows the commander talking briefly before hanging up with a flourish to loud cheers from his crew (above)
Footage of the mobile disco on HMS Trenchant (left) was posted to social media. Many of the crew can seen looking on bewildered with their hands in their pockets (right) as the disco blares out music.
Senior officers were said to be particularly appalled that he allowed crew to film the event and post it to social media where it was picked up by insurance comparison website forcescompare.uk
Many of the crew can seen looking on bewildered with their hands in their pockets as the disco blares out music.
Cooks in white overalls can be seen standing over a BBQ with the submarine in the background.
The sub had been on patrol for several weeks and returned to its base in the Naval dockyard at Devonport in the first week of April.
A Royal Navy insider said the dockside party is one of several incidents under investigation connected to Lewis.
His treatment divided opinion with some outraged that he is being punished for looking after crew while others asking if he disobeyed the chain of command.
One Twitter user wrote: ‘The crew of HMS Trenchant have all practically lived in each other’s pockets for months.
They had a barbecue and played some loud music. So what. It’s the same as what folk are doing at home. They’re just a massive family. Lighten up.’
Others said he would be in trouble if held the BBQ after being ‘explicitly told not to’.
HMS Trenchant is one of three nuclear powered subs in the Navy’s arsenal
Lewis had previously been executive officer on another nuclear submarine that was at the centre of a drugs scandal in 2017 when nine crew members tested positive for cocaine.
The sub’s captain was also removed while an investigation into an alleged affair with a female crew member was carried out.
HMS Trenchant is one of three nuclear powered subs in the Navy’s arsenal.
The Trafalgar class submarine is equipped with Tomahawk cruise missile, which can destroy a target from up to 1,000 miles away.
Powered by a nuclear generator it can stay underwater for months with only food replenishment for the crew making it surface.
In 2018 the sub broke through the ice of the North Pole after a joint exercise with the US Navy. One of the crew posed for a photo holding a cricket bat on the ice cap.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: ‘An investigation is underway. It would be inappropriate to comment further.’