The chief executive of Rolls-Royce is unable to access top secret UK government documents relating to its submarines business, which powers Britain’s nuclear deterrent, it can be revealed.
Tufan Erginbilgiç, who took over at the £12bn engineering giant in January, is prevented from viewing “UK eyes only” documents under Whitehall security protocols because he holds joint British and Turkish citizenship, sources said.
The Guardian understands that Chris Cholerton, who became the company’s group president in March, has been given responsibility for handling sensitive information related to its submarine business, alongside Steve Carlier, president of the division.
Sources close to the company questioned whether it was good governance to have a chief executive excluded from politically-sensitive information related to the business.
Rolls-Royce’s submarines division builds the nuclear reactors that power Britain’s fleet of submarines, including the four nuclear warhead-armed Vanguard vessels.
It employs more than 1,500 engineers to design, manufacture and support reactors for the vessels used by the UK’s Royal Navy as part of its “continuous at sea deterrent” capability and Rolls-Royce is growing the division significantly as it develops the next generation of reactors to go into the new Dreadnought submarines.
The nuclear deterrent has been in place since 1969 and means at least one nuclear warhead-armed submarine, powered by Rolls-Royce, is always on operational patrol. The nuclear deterrent is governed under the 1958 Mutual Defence Agreement between the US and the UK and the Polaris Sales Agreement, a treaty on missile systems, signed in 1963.
The company also works on the submarines when they are at the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in Cumbria and the naval bases at Devonport in Plymouth, and Faslane on the Clyde. Last year, Rolls-Royce’s defence arm accounted for almost a third of its £12.7bn revenues.
Erginbilgiç took over from Warren East, who had held the role since 2015, and immediately described the jet engines manufacturer as a “burning platform”. He has brought in consultants and is expected to cut thousands of jobs at the company, which has about 50,000 employees.
Cholerton, the former president of Rolls-Royce’s civil aerospace business, took on a new role two months ago including responsibility for its nuclear operations including submarines and its business developing small modular reactors (SMRs) – mini nuclear power stations.
Erginbilgiç’s appointment was announced last year after a process run by search firm MWM Consulting. The board noted his background in engineering and experience in leading “complex multinational organisations”.
Erginbilgiç’s family are from Kilis, close to the Syrian border. He studied engineering at Istanbul Technical University, graduating in 1982 and entered the oil industry after further studies in business and economics. He was chief executive of BP’s downstream business from 2014 to 2020.
Erginbilgiç receives an annual salary of £1.25m and was handed shares worth £7.5m as compensation for forfeited pay from BP on joining. He was one of the frontrunners to replace former chief executive Bob Dudley but left the oil major after losing out to Bernard Looney.
Rolls-Royce’s articles of association stipulate its chief executive and chairman must be a British, US or EU citizen. The UK government holds a “golden share”, allowing it to veto any takeover, because of its sensitive nuclear work.
“UK eyes only” documents are typically marked “UK secret” with a statement that they have been “communicated in confidence” and “should not be released without the agreement of the British government”.
The source close to Rolls-Royce said: “There have been questions raised internally about whether it’s right to have a chief executive who is not able to be included in some of the most sensitive areas of the business.”
The navy uses a larger class of ballistic deterrent submarine, Vanguard, as well as the Trafalgar and Astute class attack vessels.
In March, it was confirmed that Rolls-Royce would provide the reactors for Australia’s nuclear powered submarines as part of the Aukus trilateral pact between the UK, the US and Australia.
On Tuesday the company announced plans to double the size of its Raynesway site in Derby as a result of the Aukus deal, creating 1,170 new roles. It is understood Erginbilgiç has clearance to access the site, which is only open to UK citizens.
A Rolls-Royce spokesperson said: “As CEO, Tufan is fully responsible for the nuclear submarine business in Rolls-Royce and has all relevant oversight of the operation of that business.
“As a global defence supplier, there are occasionally national eyes-only aspects of our work, such as in the US. In relation to the submarine business, Chris Cholerton, group president with responsibility for the submarine business, supports Tufan.”
The company did not explain why, as a UK national, Erginbilgiç does not have nuclear clearance for sensitive documents.
Rolls-Royce also operates two prototype reactor plants at a “trials establishment” in the north of Scotland on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.
Sources pointed out that US executives within the company had privileges not available to their British colleagues, and that the Ministry of Defence was aware of Erginbilgiç’s appointment before it was announced.
