SNP Anger Over Plans For Torpedo Range

The Scottish National Party's Ian Blackford is calling for an urgent parliamentary statement from the Defence Secretary over claims the Ministry of Defence is about to double the size of its Scottish torpedo range.

Mr Blackford, who the SNP MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber insists the public must be consulted over any changes.

The row has erupted after local press in the Highlands carried a "Notice of Proposed New Bylaws for the Inner Sound", despite earlier assurances from the government that local people would be asked about the proposals.

Situated off the west coast of Scotland between Applecross on the mainland and Isle of Rona, the British Underwater Test and Evaluation Centre (BUTEC) is used to test both torpedos and the noises generated by Royal Navy submarines. 

Ian Blackford claims the expansion could cost the livelihoods of up to 140 fisherman: "Despite repeated requests for a public consultation to be carried out before any attempt was made to adopt new bylaws, this has clearly not happened and the Mod seem determined to ride roughshod over the communities of the western Highlands and Islands.

"I call on Michael Fallon to make a statement to the House of Commons when MPs return to Parliament."

In 2002 the alleged secret testing of a high-powered sonar device in the BUTEC area sparked controversy. Banned from being used by the US Navy due to causing potentially fatal damage to whales and dolphins a Low Frequency sonar test was conducted by the British defence technology company QinectiQ.

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