A South West daily caused a stink in the corridors of Whitehall when it revealed that Brussels sprouts had been banned from a Royal Navy warship.

The captain of Devonport warship HMS Bulwark told The Herald’s defence reporter Tristan Nichols that sprouts were “the devil’s vegetable” and were “absolutely banned” on his vessel.

But when the Plymouth-based daily published the story, the Ministry of Defence quickly stepped forward to pour cold water on it.

With the scoop quickly threatening to go national, the MoD initially claimed the ship had denied the tale, then said Navy captain Wayne Keble had been quoted out of context.

However, Tristan knew he was in a position to prove that his story was 100pc accurate.

A fellow reporter from the specialist publication Navy News had tape-recorded the entire interview, and when contacted by The Herald, agreed to back up its version of events.

Tristan told HTFP: “The nationals were phoning us and saying the MoD was denying it.

“I went back to the MoD nationally and said if you are going to play those games, we’re going to put whe whole transcript on our website.”

The paper duly uploaded the transcript in which Capt Keble utters the words: “The only thing I have banned on board is Brussels sprouts. They are the devil’s vegetable.”

Hours later the MoD, having contacted Navy News to check that its tape corresponded with The Herald’s transcript, finally held up its hands

Added Tristan: “It was a mini battle which we won. We knew we were telling the truth and we had access to proof – a tape recording of the conversation as well as a neat shorthand note.”

The story subsequently appeared in the Daily Telegraph and the Daily Mail.