Women in the News.

WOMEN will be allowed to serve on UK submarines for the first time, it was revealed week. The first 20 female submariners will sail on Vanguard-class subs carrying Trident nuclear missiles.

Initially the official argument was the fear that three months spent underwater would cause pregnant women to miscarry but tests carried out over the past year have found this is not the case.

Although the real reason for extending opportunities to women seems to be somewhat different, when it was also revealed that the Royal Navy has had difficulty recruiting submariners.

There are now reportedly fears amongst senior naval officials that women working on submarines could lead to ‘inappropriate behaviour.’ This kind of comment of course causes one to wonder whether any progress has been made at all. Since the time of Adam and Eve it seems women have always been the cause of original sin – not men!

Initially, five women officers will be deployed with each of the four Vanguard-class nuclear subs' 135-strong crew. But a naval source said last night: "There is concern over what might happen.

‘If there was a sex scandal it would be impossible for anyone to be taken off until the sub returned from its three-month patrol. The Navy will go to great lengths to make sure that the first women are officers with impeccable credentials.’ Here at the Coffee Shop we wonder just what ‘impeccable credentials’ might mean.

Having said that this is hardly big progress because as we know women in chat have been working on subs for years!