Nicola Sturgeon accuses UK government of ‘dumping’ WMDs on the Clyde

THE UK government was accused by the SNP of “dumping” weapons of mass destruction in Scotland, as plans to forge ahead with a replacement for the Clyde-based Trident nuclear deterrent were set out yesterday.

During a visit to the Faslane base, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said there were no plans to move the submarine-based system, despite the looming independence referendum and support in the Scottish Parliament for scrapping Trident.

The Conservative minister’s visit also exposed divisions with his Liberal Democrat coalition partners, as Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg accused him of “jumping the gun” over the proposed replacement. A final decision will not be taken until 2016, but the £350 million funding announced yesterday will go towards designing the new system.

Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the “Trident weapons of mass destruction dumped in Scotland exemplify the independence dividend” for Scots if they voted to leave the UK in 2014.

She added: “The obscene amount ploughed into upgrading and maintaining Trident illustrates the independence dividend and how, with the powers of an independent Parliament, we could spend Scotland’s share of Trident spending on key public services.

“The Scottish Parliament has voted clearly, across parties, against Trident renewal and most Scots want the parliament to have the powers to get rid of Trident.”

The nuclear issue has been a thorny one in recent weeks for the Nationalists, with two MSPs quitting the party over its recent decision to join the Nato nuclear alliance. But the SNP remains committed to the removal of nuclear weapons from Scottish territory.

Ms Sturgeon added: “What we know for sure is that this appalling waste of money highlights why Scotland needs a Yes vote in 2014, and is a huge blow to the anti-independence camp.

“The vast majority of MSPs, as well as the churches, trade unions and civic society across the nation totally oppose Trident nuclear weapons being based in Scotland.”

But Mr Hammond insisted yesterday that there were about 6,500 jobs based at Faslane now and this would rise to more than 8,000 when all the Royal Navy’s submarines, including the Astute and Trafalgar class, were based there by 2022.

“Right now there are 3,200 civilian jobs on this base, as well as many thousands of military jobs, and that number will increase as we go through the decade and the remaining submarine operations are brought up here,” he said.

Mr Hammond insisted there were no plans to remove nuclear weapons from Faslane, with UK ministers confident Scots would vote to stay in the UK.

The SNP and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament insist that Trident supports only 520 jobs, but Mr Hammond said this “relates simply to one part of the facility here for weapons handling”.

He also hit out at the SNP’s decision to join the nuclear-armed Nato alliance, while opposing the weapons being based in Scotland.

“It’s an utterly bizarre and unfathomable position,” he said.

“You cannot say you want to be in the club and benefit from the membership of the club and all the things that it brings, but you’re not prepared to play your part in supporting the club in all the things it has to do.”

The Liberal Democrats want to delay a decision as alternatives are examined.

Mr Clegg dismissed suggestions that an additional £350 million of funding announced for designing a replacement deterrent “made clear” the UK government’s commitment to maintaining the system.

The Deputy Prime Minister insisted the coalition agreement would not be “undermined or contradicted” and the Lib Dems’ review into alternatives would continue.

He said: “I think some people are jumping the gun on this Trident decision. The coalition agreement is crystal clear – it will not be changed, it will not be undermined, it will not be contradicted.

“The final decision on Trident replacement will not be taken until 2016, however much other people may not like it that way.”

The Liberal Democrats are understood to be unhappy that the latest stage is being used to indicate that a replacement will go ahead regardless of any recommendations from a review due to report at the end of the year.

Mr Clegg added: “The idea of a like-for-like, entirely unchanged replacement of Trident is basically saying we will spend billions and billions and billions of pounds on a nuclear missile system designed with the sole strategic purpose of flattening Moscow at the press of a button.”

But Mr Hammond said: “We have agreed with our Liberal Democrat coalition partners that we will look with them at whether there is any alternative which makes economic sense and provides an as-good nuclear deterrent capability.

“That report will be completed later this year or early next and it will inform the main investment decision in 2016.

“But in the meantime, we are pressing ahead with the design and development work.”

TRIDENT - THE FACTS

The UK’s nuclear defence is a missile system called Trident. The missiles are fired from four Vanguard submarines which are based on the Clyde at Faslane.

The US-built missiles replaced the previous Polaris system in 1994, but the 30-year lifespan is due to end in 2024 and planning has to begin now for a replacement.

Each Trident missile has a range of up to 7,500 miles and is accurate to within a few feet. Their individual destructive power is estimated as the equivalent of eight Hiroshimas – referring to the atomic bomb dropped on the Japanese city in 1945.

The UK deploys 16 Trident missiles on each of its four Vanguard-class submarines. One of these is out at sea on patrol at all times, ready to retaliate against any assailant on the UK.

Each Trident missile is designed to carry up to 12 nuclear warheads, but the Royal Navy’s are armed with three after the 1998 Strategic Defence Review imposed a limit of 48 per submarine.