SCOTTISH nuclear bases are supported by 1990s-style pagers such as the ones targeted in a mass attack on Lebanon this week, The National can reveal.
National security concerns have been raised about the use of the antiquated technology in sites where nuclear weapons are stored and maintained.
Two sources have confirmed to this paper that the use of pagers, which appear to have been tampered with to cause explosions across Lebanon in attacks which have injured thousands, remains common at bases in Coulport and Faslane.
Pagers, also known as bleepers, are almost entirely redundant in most walks of life having been superseded by mobile phones decades ago – but they are still used on Ministry of Defence (MoD) sites in Scotland and by the Islamist militant group Hezbollah, which has blamed Israel for the attacks.
NHS workers in England were told to stop using pagers in hospitals in 2019 though it is thought some still use them.
Concerns about their use have been raised in light of Tuesday and Wednesday's deadly attacks, which have killed at least 21 people including two children, in a move which threatens to escalate tensions between Israel and Lebanon into all-out war.
One source told The National that staff at a Scottish nuclear base who were on call or on duty used pagers.
The devices have security advantages because of their lack of sophistication, though they can still be vulnerable to interception.
Citing US officials, The New York Times reported that devices appeared to have received messages from Hezbollah’s leadership before detonating.
The BBC reported that Lebanese officials believe that attackers had tampered with the hardware of the devices to turn them into bombs before they were imported to the country.
Alba general secretary Chris McEleny, who previously worked at Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport where nuclear warheads are stored, told The National “people will be astounded that the safety of the UK’s nuclear deterrent is still supported by a network of 1980s and 1990s-style handheld pagers”.
He added: “The Hezbollah attack should result in the MoD now assessing the vulnerability of where the country’s stockpile of nuclear weapons are stored because pager holders are highly likely to be in close proximity the most critical possible systems and materials on site but then the pagers go offsite overnight."
The revelation will add to fears about the state of Britain’s nuclear fleet, which is believed to be “rotting”.
Former Tory special adviser Dominic Cummings last year lifted the lid on what he said was the “nightmare” issue of Trident.
He wrote that nuclear weapons infrastructure was “a dangerous disaster and a budget nightmare of hard-to-believe and highly classified proportions”.
The UK Government did not respond to a request for comment.
