A defence expert has warned that an independent Scotland could be frozen out of NATO over opposition to the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
Rear Admiral John Gower said undermining Trident would “unlikely” be forgotten by members of the alliance when considering a new application.
The SNP ’s position is for an independent Scotland to join NATO, but get rid of the weapons from Faslane.
Scotland is home to four Trident submarines and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said she would like the weapons removed in the first term of an independent Parliament.
However, the position is under mounting criticism, particularly in light of Russia’s aggression in Ukraine and the centrality of Trident to the defence policy of the UK, a key NATO member.
Gower, a former assistant chief of defence staff, told the Sunday Times:
“Whatever the SNP’s views on Nato membership, a death blow to the UK’s nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine force is unlikely to be forgotten by current Nato members, who could well refuse Scottish membership when new members are being considered.
“Many Scottish voters may see the departure of nuclear weapons from an independent Scotland as a cosy feel-good risk-free by-product of independence without being aware of the repercussions for Scotland, the rest of the UK, and the wider Nato alliance.”
A YouGov poll found that 45 per cent of voters in Scotland backed keeping nuclear submarines in the event of a “yes” vote, with 34 per cent opposed.
Sturgeon was asked this month whether a Yes vote would "strip the UK of its nuclear capability".
She said: "Nuclear weapons are dangerous and we would always be responsible in terms of the negotiations around the timing and the practical arrangements for the removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland. We would not be in any way irresponsible about that.”
An SNP spokeswoman said: “Nato membership for an independent Scotland would maintain the alliance’s territorial integrity in a key strategic area – so the idea that Nato would choose to make itself smaller by excluding Scotland makes no sense from a geopolitical perspective.
“The vast majority of Nato members do not have nuclear weapons, and an independent Scotland would be in the same position as those non-nuclear member states. Independent countries have the right to seek Nato membership on their own terms, as is currently the case with Sweden, a non-nuclear weapon state.”
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