Britain's Royal Navy says a submariner who publicly challenged the safety of the country's nuclear fleet has been apprehended.

A spokesman said Tuesday that Able Seaman William McNeilly is in military police custody at a facility in Scotland. McNeilly had been missing for several days since he released a damning 18-page report on the WikiLeaks website that contained stark warnings about safety and security lapses in Britain's weapons program.

McNeilly called the aging Trident weapons program a potential disaster and said it could easily be infiltrated by terrorists.

Officials did not talk about how McNeilly was taken into custody. He had earlier said he would turn himself in.

A Royal Navy spokesman says the agency's program is safe and it disagrees with the submariner's "subjective and unsubstantiated personal views."