British Scientists Linked to US Atom Scandal ; Nuclear Weapons Inquiry into Loss of Top-Secret Disks at Los Alamos Laboratory Examines Role of Visiting UK Researchers

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Investigators into a potentially devastating security breach at the US nuclear weapons laboratory at Los Alamos are considering the possibility that visiting British atomic experts made off with two sensitive computer disks that have been missing since early July.

That diplomatically explosive scenario was raised at a recent closed- door congressional hearing in Washington, where lawmakers have threatened scientists working at the lab with dismissal or even criminal prosecution for what they see as an inexcusable disregard for security procedures.

James Greenwood, a Republican member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, asked the head of the National …