Browne slates SNP's plan to maintain UK military bases

Published on Sunday 11 October 2009 22:24

PROPOSALS by the SNP to maintain UK military bases in Scotland after independence have been dismissed by Des Browne, a former secretary of state for defence.

The Labour MP said: "(SNP MP] Angus Robertson's latest proposals appear to have been made up on the back of an envelope, but they reveal just how little the SNP understand about defence.

"They seem to want Scotland to be a big military base for the remainder of the UK.

"In coming up with this latest suggestion, Mr Robertson has admitted that the SNP have no idea how to raise the forces necessary to defend Scotland. In the absence of any policy, they simply want the rest of the UK to do it for them.

"This is also an admission that they have realised Scotland cannot afford to lose the jobs and investment that UK defence brings, so they will just ask the rest of the UK to spend that money here."

He added: "No thought has been given to whether it is likely that England, Wales and Northern Ireland would be prepared to allow the status quo to continue once Scotland has left the Union."