SNP angry at Tory leader's Trident vow

Published on Monday 29 June 2009 20:28

A ROW broke out yesterday after Conservative leader David Cameron said maintaining Britain's nuclear deterrent would be "non-negotiable" for a future Tory government.

The SNP said the decision – effectively giving the green light to the next generation of Trident nuclear submarines – meant an "obscene" amount of money would be spent on weapons of mass destruction.

The submarines are based at Faslane naval base on the Clyde, supporting an estimated 850 of the 3,500 jobs at the naval base. Trident is due to be replaced, at an estimated cost of 20 billion, around the year 2025.

Mr Cameron said he supported Britain maintaining an independent nuclear deterrent. "That is absolutely vital for us," he said. "The independent nuclear deterrent, Britain having it, is non-negotiable for the Conservative Party."

Bill Kidd, a Glasgow SNP MSP and anti-Trident campaigner, accused Mr Cameron of "picking fights" with Scotland.

In a BBC Scotland documentary earlier this week, Mr Cameron warned the anti-nuclear SNP to stay out of decisions on defence, which are reserved to the Westminster parliament.

Mr Kidd said: "With David Cameron demanding investment cuts in public services, it is utterly astounding he is planning to waste even more on Trident.

"With the Labour UK Government running up debts of 1.4 trillion, it is clear that we can't afford to waste such an obscene amount of money on unwanted, unnecessary weapons of mass destruction."