POLICE tonight charged a man with murder and three counts of attempted murder in connection with the fatal shooting on a nuclear submarine in Southampton.

Able Seaman Ryan Samuel Donovan, 22, was arrested after one officer was shot dead and another left with stomach wounds on HMS Astute on Friday.

Able Seaman Donovan, of Dartford, Kent, has been charged with the murder of Lieutenant Commander Ian Thomas Molyneux, 36, the attempted murder of Petty Officer Christopher Brown, 36, the attempted murder of Chief Petty Officer David McCoy, 37, and the attempted murder of Lieutenant Commander Christopher Hodge, 45.

Donovan will remain in police custody until he appears at Southampton Magistrates' Court tomorrow morning.

Lt Cmdr Molyneux was 36 and from Wigan.

His wife Gillian Molyneux, said: ''Ian was utterly devoted to his family.

''Everything he did was for us. He was very proud to be an officer in the Royal Navy Submarine Service. He will live on in our four beautiful children.''

Lt Cmdr Hodge remains in a stable condition at Southampton General Hospital tonight.