Whitehall and Scotland in 'nuclear war'

THE Defence Secretary placed himself on a collision course with the Scottish Government yesterday when he branded SNP plans to scrap the nuclear deterrent as "incredible folly" and "national vandalism".

During a visit to Faslane naval base on the Clyde, John Hutton also reinforced the government's pledge to keep nuclear weapons in Scotland.

The move is a direct challenge to the Scottish Government's efforts to have the weapons removed from Scotland.

Mr Hutton said Faslane was a "vital part of our country's defence" as home to Britain's nuclear deterrent, and warned any decision by the SNP to scrap Trident and its replacement would be an "incredible folly" and an act of "national vandalism".

His comments drew criticism from the SNP's Bruce Crawford, minister for parliamentary business, who said that the Trident replacement was an "irresponsible" waste of money in the current economic climate.

"Trident is part and parcel of the Blair/Brown 'Age of Irresponsibility'," he said.

"At a time of economic downturn and substantial pressure on government spending, it is utterly irresponsible to waste anything up to 100 billion on a new generation of unnecessary and unwanted weapons of mass destruction – dumped in Scotland against the wishes of Scotland's Parliament and a majority of Scottish Westminster MPs."

The Scottish Government has already taken a firm stance on nuclear weapons, stating that, despite the fact that defence is a reserved area, it would use all its powers available to have them removed. It has been suggested that the Scottish Government could refuse planning permission for a dry dock to service the nuclear submarines, or use international law to prevent "war crimes" being committed in Scotland.

But Mr Hutton, who became Defence Secretary in the recent Cabinet reshuffle, said that the weapons are a key part of the UK's security.

He said that, although the SNP-led Holyrood Government is opposed to keeping nuclear weapons in Scotland, the fact that defence is not a devolved matter means he would not be concerned unless the Nationalists win their battle for independence.

Mr Hutton added: "I think we should base our policy on evidence, and our evidence in relation to the nuclear deterrent is pretty obvious.

"It has helped secure the security of the United Kingdom from a very dangerous nuclear threat for a very long time.

"With defence policy, you have to think 20, 30 or 40 years ahead, not two or three or four years."