Alex Salmond told nuclear ban out of line with being in Nato

Off By Sharon Black

First minister faces questions over defence policy after Scotland secretary says Nato’s nuclear stance is finite

Alex Salmond has been warned by a UK cabinet minister it would be “extraordinarily difficult” for an independent Scotland to join Nato at the same time as banning nuclear weapons.

In a sharp escalation of the clash over Salmond’s defence policies, Michael Moore, the Scotland secretary, said it was “absolutely clear” that Scotland would have to accept Nato was a nuclear alliance as a precondition for membership.

Moore confirmed disclosures by the Guardian that senior Nato officials raised serious concerns about the implications of Scottish government plans to force the removal of Trident nuclear weapons from the Clyde soon after independence in a meeting with Scottish civil servants.

They were told that new Nato members are expected not to “import problems” into the alliance, sources said, and to avoid any actions which undermined its nuclear-armed doctrine.

Acknowledging that UK civil servants facilitated the fact-finding talks between Scottish and Nato officials last month, Moore said: “What the visit to Brussels made very clear is that an independent Scotland would need to take on the obligations of Nato or renegotiate those obligations individually with every single member state.

“That would be an extraordinarily difficult thing to do.

“An independent Scotland can’t apply to join the club then disregard every obligation of that club. The Scottish government’s plans for Nato appear to be in serious disarray.”

The dispute deepened further after Nicola Sturgeon, the deputy first minister, insisted that the UK government would be forced to accede to the removal of Trident if Scots voted for independence in next year’s referendum.

As her government faced attacks from both allies and critics over its stance on Nato, Sturgeon said that David Cameron had already agreed that his government would honour a yes vote.

Unlike previous general elections, where Trident’s future had not been a central issue, the SNP and the Yes Scotland campaign had put removing Trident at the centrepiece of the referendum. As a result, a yes vote would be an explicit mandate from Scottish voters to become non-nuclear.

In a subtle change of emphasis in Scottish government policy, Sturgeon then warned that if a deal to close down the nuclear submarine base could not be reached, her government would refuse to join Nato.

“We have made clear that that continued membership [of Nato] is contingent on the removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland, and if the people of Scotland vote Yes they will have voted to support a proposition that calls for the removal of Trident at the earliest safe opportunity,” Sturgeon said.

“The UK government is committed to working constructively with us to make that happen, as they have pledged to respect the result of the referendum and to work constructively, in the interests of the people of Scotland and the rest of the UK, whatever the result.”

UK government sources said Sturgeon was exaggerating the meaning and implications of Cameron’s pledge to honour the vote, insisting there was no promise to pre-negotiate …read more