CLAIMS the Gaul trawler was sunk by a submarine have been dismissed as "absurd".

Nigel Meeson QC, barrister to the public inquiry into the sinking of the Hull vessel 30 years ago, said the allegation was "far-fetched and absurd".

Sheila Doone, of Sackville Street, Brierfield, is among a group of relatives who have campaigned to be told the truth about the Gaul's sinking. Her husband, John, was a radio operator on the trawler.

Yesterday freelance journalist Graham Smith, who runs a website about the Gaul sinking, circulated a report claiming a Polaris submarine sank the trawler on February 8, 1974, after becoming entangled in her fishing nets.

But he was criticised by Mr Meeson at the resumed hearing for not contacting the inquiry team beforehand.

"He has failed to provide further information as to where the statement had come from, or where he got the information," said Mr Meeson. "The theory the Gaul was towed backwards by a submarine is inconsistent with the facts as we know them."

The Hull-based vessel sank off the coast of Norway amid rumours it was involved in spying on the Soviet navy, a claim the Ministry of Defence has always denied.

The inquiry has already heard the Gaul was not fishing at the time of her sinking, and the nets were stowed away, making it impossible for the submarine to become entangled.

Mr Meeson said wording in the letter, apparently made by a Navy officer, was inconsistent with language used by such officers.

He also said a submarine designed to provide a nuclear deterrent would never have been in shallow water.