Ian Blackford suggests SNP should ditch policy of unilateral nuclear disarmament

Ian Blackford said he had always held the view that the Trident nuclear deterrent should be removed from the Clyde. 

But he questioned the road map to this, and added: "When the facts change, careful consideration of our response is appropriate."

First Minister John Swinney rejected his argument, telling journalists: "I recognise the view that Ian has set out, but I take a different view.”

The SNP has long argued for the removal of nuclear weapons from Scottish territory in the event of independence. The party's website says it "has never and will never support the retention or renewal of Trident". 

Mr Swinney has defended this position despite an increasingly volatile global situation.

But writing in The Times, Mr Blackford, who led the SNP's Westminster group from 2017 to 2022, said there "must now be a concentration of minds on a multilateral approach", which would involve agreements between states to give up their nuclear weapons, rather than Scotland or the UK acting alone.

The former MP said: "I have always held to the view that Trident must be removed from the Clyde and that we must kick-start a pathway to multilateral disarmament, but what is the road map to this? When the facts change, careful consideration of our response is appropriate. 

"US disengagement from Europe leads to fundamental questions of us facing a Russian aggressor with a nuclear capability. There must now be a concentration of minds on a multilateral approach to achieve nuclear de-escalation. 

"An independent Scotland will of course be in Nato. That became the settled position of the SNP in 2012. We are pro-Nato because we are pro-peace. 

"But in the here and now, the UK's nuclear capability needs to be addressed in the shifting sands of US and European engagement.

"After achieving peace in Ukraine there must be a journey towards nuclear weapon disarmament and freeing up the defence budget for mission-critical, conventional spending and, yes, also creating a peace dividend to invest elsewhere over time."

Mr Swinney said nuclear weapons are “immoral” and have not ensured global safety. Speaking in Holyrood, he told journalists: “I don't think nuclear weapons are offering us the protection against conflict at this moment.

"I also have never taken the view that there's a moral argument for nuclear weapons. I think the possession of nuclear weapons is immoral.

"I think we've got to take a rational, responsible and orderly approach to the removal of nuclear weapons from Scottish soil and Scottish waters, and that would be my priority."

The First Minister previously said the billions of pounds spent servicing Trident, which is based at HM Naval Base Clyde, Faslane, would be better spent on conventional weapons.

He said: “As a party, as a Government, as an individual, I wouldn’t support the possession of nuclear weapons.

“There’s obviously resources that could have been spent alternatively on defence than on Trident missiles, which are not stopping conflict in the world today and they’re not able to be deployed in the current challenges we face.”