CONTROVERSIAL proposals to use Southampton docks to berth a nuclear submarine moved ever closer last night.

City bosses are supposed to agree to the controversial safety scheme - dubbed SotonSafe - by July this year. If they fail to do so, they could face legal action from the Health and Safety Executive in London's High Court, at a cost of at least £100,000.

At a meeting of the Special Finance and Corporate Services Standing Scrutiny Panel last night, members agreed to endorse the draft plan. It will go for final approval to the council's Cabinet on June 2.

The Navy is planning to use the city's Z berth at dock 38 to house a nuclear vessel for recreational use.

The scheme was put on hold last year when councillors had so little confidence in the Royal Navy's original safety plans that they told the service to stay away until new procedures were drawn-up.

The emergency plan is supposed to swing into action in the event of a nuclear incident and includes distributing potassium iodate tablets to vulnerable people in the event of a nuclear leak.

In a report, council safety chiefs had told members of the panel they would not be prepared to endorse the revised plans if the Royal Navy did not draw up plans to deal with a possible terrorist attack.

But the council's community safety officer, Roger Honey, said he had been given assurances from the Royal Navy that anti-terrorist plans would be forwarded to the council before the Cabinet met in June this year.

Speaking after the meeting, David Hoadley, chairman of the Solent Coalition Against Nuclear Ships, said his group did not believe that council staff and police would be adequately trained to cope if a nuclear incident took place.

He said: "There is not enough monitoring equipment available should an incident occur.

"We also believe it is too huge a task to deliver iodate tablets to large numbers of people, particularly people who may be in shopping areas."