John Bercow caught calling the Defence Secretary ‘STUPID’ during heated Trident row

Sir Michael was invited by Julian Lewis, the chair of the Defence Select Committee, to explain to the House of Commons what exactly had happened during the June 2016 tests.

Prime Minister Theresa May was accused of covering up the details for the failed launch after it was reported that the cause of the unsuccessful tests had been kept top secret while the Government pushed MPs to approve the programme’s £40billion renewal in July.

She, however, refused four times to reveal on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show whether she was aware of the launch of the unarmed Trident II D5 missile from a British submarine off the coast of Florida after Downing Street were accused of covering up the failure.

Having been hauled in front of the House, Sir Michael seemingly became entangled in a heated exchange with Mr Lewis after the Conservative refused to comment on details of “submarine missions”, which prompted fresh allegations of facilitating a cover-up.

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Commons Speaker John Bercow called the Defence Secretary "stupid" during a heated Trident debate

Picking a fight with the chair of a select committee is a rather stupid thing to do

John Bercow

Chairing the debate, the Speaker said: “How the Secretary of state wants to deal with [Julian Lewis] is entirely a matter for his judgement to exercise the best of his ability.”

However, clearly left unimpressed by Sir Michael’s actions, he mutters: “Picking a fight with the chair of a select committee is a rather stupid thing to do.”

Mr Bercow, who has signalled his intention to step down as Speaker, was caught by his microphone as his message was broadcast to the attending MPs.

Despite the torrent of scathing questions, Sir Michael insisted that the Government had done the right thing in keeping missile tests a secret.

He said: “Contrary to reports in the weekend press, HMS Vengeance and her crew were successfully tested and certified as ready to rejoin the operational cycle.

“We do not comment on the detail of submarine operations.”

He added: “The capability and effectiveness of the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent is not in doubt.

“The Government has absolute confidence in our deterrent and in the Royal Navy crews who protect us.”

The Defence Secretary offers no further technical details of the test and told MPs they would not have been asked to vote on Trident’s renewal “if there had been any question about the capability and effectiveness of our deterrent”.

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The UK's Vanguard fleet of four submarines carrying Trident nuclear missiles are due to become obsolete by the end of 2020

Hitting back Labour’s shadow defence secretary Nia Griffith said the lack of official details about the reported malfunction showed a “worrying lack of transparency”.

She said: “At the heart of this issue is a worrying lack of transparency and a Prime Minister who’s chosen to cover up a serious incident, rather than coming clear with the British public.

“This House, and more importantly the British public, deserve better.”

Mr Bercow had previously dismissed a request from Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg for Monday’s proceedings to be heard in private in order to prevent MPs giving “succour to our enemies”.

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