Defence Secretary Hits Out At SNP's "Confused" Nuclear Stance

The Defence Secretary has hit out at the SNP's "confused" position on nuclear weapons on a visit to the Clyde Naval Base.

The remarks come as Sir Michal Fallon holds global security talks with NATO’s Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and 29 ambassadors of the North Atlantic Council (NAC) at Clyde Naval Base.

The visit came a day after Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon reaffirmed her commitment to removing nuclear missiles from Scotland.

Speaking at Holyrood, she said:

"I want to see a world free of nuclear weapons and I think that countries such as the United Kingdom should lead by example.

"Instead of spending tens of billions of pounds on a new generation of Trident nuclear missiles, we should get rid of Trident nuclear missiles from the Clyde.

"We will continue to support action for unilateral nuclear disarmament because, if countries lead by example, the world will be a safer place in the long term as a result."

Responding to the comments, Sir Michael said the SNP needed to "sort out" their position on the nuclear deterrent.

He said:

"As I understand it the SNP position seems very confused now. They want to join Nato.

“NATO is a nuclear alliance and our nuclear forces, the French nuclear forces, the American nuclear forces are part of NATO's nuclear alliance.

"The nuclear deterrent here today keep Britain safe, it keeps Nato safe as well and Scotland is part of that."

The Defence Secretary said during his talks with NATO's Secretary General that the UK’s nuclear deterrent is the only way to defend against a “reckless” and “increasingly aggressive” North Korea.

He said:

“[Nuclear deterrents] remain vital for the security of our people and of our NATO partners for as long as the security environment demands”

He also stated that the UK Government was currently working with the US administration to bring the “dangerous, provocative and illegal” nuclear actions from North Korea to a halt.

He added:

 "Today the nuclear dangers are intensifying from a reckless North Korea and increasingly aggressive Russia.

"UK weapons remain the only credible way to deter the most extreme dangers, reminding any aggressor that the benefits of an attack would be vastly outweighed by the consequences."

However, when asked if the UK would pledge its nuclear deterrent in support of the US in the event of a North Korean attack, he said:

"It's hypothetical to speculate on what kind of assistance the United States might want from its allies in any particular situation.

"We're working hard with the administration to use every diplomatic channel to bring this dangerous, provocative and illegal testing programme to a halt.

"We work with the United States tightening enforcement of the existing resolutions, to ensure that the new resolution is properly implemented.

Mr Stoltenberg, when asked whether NATO would support the US in a preventative strike against the rogue state, said:

"We continue to work for a peaceful political negotiated solution to the crisis in Korea and we continue to strongly condemn the testing, the development of missiles and nuclear weapons.

"At the same time every nation has the right to defend itself and of course also the United States has the right to defend itself against attacks and Nato is there to defend all allies and that's part of self defence, which is part of the UN Charter.

"We will continue to work for maximum pressure on North Korea to create the conditions for a negotiated solution.

"We call on North Korea to abandon its missile programmes and nuclear programmes and we support the efforts to step up the pressure on North Korea including with economic sanctions."