THE UK Government has been accused of a ‘cover up’ after it refused to reveal the number of nuclear convoys travelling through Scotland.
A Freedom of Information request submitted by the Alba Party asked the UK Government to reveal the number of convoys transporting nuclear materials to the Trident Warhead Depot in Coulport on Loch Long.
The Ministry of Defence refused the request.
On Monday during Defence Questions at Westminster, Alba Party Westminster leader Neale Hanvey pressed the UK Government to be transparent about the number of nuclear convoys to have taken place over each of the past five years.
It comes after it was revealed that an unnamed Vanguard class submarine, which carries the UK’s trident nuclear missiles, was involved in a significant safety breach more than a year ago as it prepared to go out on patrol from the HMNB Clyde.
It is reported that the commander of the submarine believed the ship was level when it was, in fact, sinking towards its crush depth.
The disaster was narrowly averted after engineers noticed the problem and raised the alarm.
“We know that containment of nuclear material is a problem for the MOD,” said Hanvey.
“The Alba Party submitted a freedom of information request to ask how much nuclear material had been transported through Scotland and this was rebuffed.
“Can the Secretary of State explain the lack of transparency surrounding Weapons of Mass Destruction movement in Scotland and justify why Scotland is being kept in the dark on this issue?”
Minister of State for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge said he “could not think of a worse time” to discuss getting rid of the UK’s nuclear deterrent.
He also criticised Alba’s policy of withdrawing from Nato.
“I could not think of a more reckless policy to undertake in the face of Russian aggression,” he said.
“We support the deterrent and we will continue to invest in it”.
Alba Party general secretary Chris McEleny, who previously worked at the Nuclear Weapons Depot, said: “This is nothing short of a cover up by the UK Government.
“The people of Scotland have the right to know how often nuclear materials are being transported on our roads past our schools, our hospitals and our towns and cities.
“The UK Government’s refusal to disclose this information shows they have something to hide, citing national security on a day that it’s revealed the MoD concealed a near catastrophic incident involving a Vanguard submarine packed with nuclear weapons only 30 minutes from Scotland’s largest city shows that nothing less than full transparency from the UK Government will cut it.”
