Royal Navy sailor arrested on suspicion of murder as shipmate found dead after flat party in Stockholm

A ROYAL Navy sailor has been arrested on suspicion of murder after a shipmate was found dead after a night out on shore leave in Stockholm. The pair were on a three week training exercise on amphibious warship HMS Albion when they went out in the Swedish capital. Michael SchofieldHMS Albion had been taking part in the Aurora 23 defence exercise[/caption] They ended up partying in a flat with three local men in the north western suburb of Solna, five miles from the centre of the Swedish capital. The alarm was raised after one of the Brits, aged 25, was found dead in the bathroom at the property. Police arrested all four of the other men present – the dead man’s British crewmate and three Swedish citizens, all in their 20s and 30s. Mystery surrounds the cause of the death after a post-mortem examination and toxicology tests were carried out. The UK’s Ministry of Defence and Swedish authorities declined to give details yesterday as inquiries continued. A Royal Navy spokesman said: “We are aware of an incident in Stockholm and we are assisting local authorities in their enquiries. “It would be inappropriate to comment further”. The three-week exercise involved more than 26,000 personnel from the Swedish Army, Swedish Navy, Swedish Air Force, Home Guard and servicemen from 14 other countries. HMS Albion – one of the Royal Navy’s two amphibious assault ships – arrived in Sweden fresh from training drills known as Joint Viking 23 in Norway in March. The purpose of the Aurora 23 training exercise was to increase the ability to deal with an armed attack on Sweden. But the British warship was due to leave Swedish waters for Estonia today – leaving behind the unidentified crew member who remains in Swedish police custody. He is due to appear in court on Wednesday with the other suspects where a judge will decide on further action and whether they should be granted bail.