Allies can agree on nuclear policy

Published on Saturday 24 October 2009 19:56

THE article describing the SNP's policy for military bases in Scotland after independence ('SNP will let English keep military bases', 11 October) contained a spectrum of views, some of which seem rather far from the mark. In the Scottish Democratic Alliance we support a non-nuclear policy for Scotland although nuclear powered naval and commercial vessels would not be banned from our territorial waters.

England's nuclear submarines which have a Nato role would still be welcome at Faslane but we would expect our no-nuclear, biological and chemical weapons policy to be respected. Nuclear weapons would have to loaded, unloaded, stored and serviced in a Nato facility elsewhere, such as Ile Longue near Brest.

Such arrangements between current and future allies should not be too difficult to agree.

Michael Hamilton, SDA interim defence spokesman, Kelso