‘Putin will be delighted’: Fury as SNP’s Ian Blackford says the UK should still SCRAP Trident

‘Putin will be delighted’: Fury as SNP’s Ian Blackford says the UK should still SCRAP the Trident nuclear deterrent despite the Russian leader’s atomic saber-rattling, claiming the idea it keeps Britain safe is ‘far-fetched’

  • Blackford: It’s ‘far-fetched’ to believe that the weapons would protect Britain 
  • UK’s four Vanguard Class submarines, which carry Trident, based in Scotland
  • Putin ordered missiles prepped for increased readiness after Ukraine invasion 


The Scottish National Party faced fury over its nuclear-free Scotland policy today as it insisted that the UK’s Trident deterrent should be scrapped despite Vladimir Putin‘s sabre-rattling.

The SNP‘s Westminster leader Ian Blackford insisted that it was ‘far-fetched’ to believe that the weapons would protect Britain and reiterated the party’s desire to remove them from an independent Scotland.

The UK’s four Vanguard Class submarines, which carry the Trident missiles, are based at Faslane, north west of Glasgow

Since invading Ukraine, Putin has tacitly suggested he could use his country’s nuclear arsenal, in the face of mounting losses and tightening Western economic sanctions.

Soon after sending his troops into the neighbouring country he ordered troops to prepare missiles for increased readiness for launch, citing ‘aggressive statements’ from NATO.

But despite all this, Mr Blackford told the PA news agency that the SNP’s policy had not changed.

‘Absolutely not at all, because there is a threat to the world from nuclear weapons,’ he said.

‘The idea that having nuclear weapons provides a deterrence that removes that threat is far-fetched, to say the least.’

Scottish Tory MSP Murdo Fraser said: ‘Putin will be delighted.’

The SNP’s Westminster leader Ian Blackford insisted that it was ‘far-fetched’ to believe that the weapons would protect Britain and reiterated the party’s desire to remove them from an independent Scotland.

The UK's four Vanguard Class submarines, which carry the Trident missiles, are based at Faslane, north west of Glasgow (HMS Vengeance pictured near Largs)

The UK’s four Vanguard Class submarines, which carry the Trident missiles, are based at Faslane, north west of Glasgow (HMS Vengeance pictured near Largs)

And Scottish Conservative shadow constitution secretary Donald Cameron added: ‘The SNP’s naivety to disregard a vital defence deterrent as part of their pitch for independence could put Scotland and the whole of the UK’s security at risk.

‘Russia’s dreadful invasion of Ukraine highlights that the UK’s nuclear deterrent remains essential in an increasingly uncertain world.’

The UK is one of three Nato members with nuclear weapons, alongside the United States and France.

Last week the Kremlin blamed the UK’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for ordering Russia’s nuclear deterrent to be on high alert, claiming she made ‘absolutely unacceptable’ remarks about wider conflict with NATO.

Vladimir Putin said he had placed Moscow’s nuclear forces on a ‘special regime of combat duty’ in response to ‘aggressive statements’ from members of the Nato defence alliance.

But his spokesman Dmitry Peskov went further to blame the escalation during Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Ms Truss.

The Foreign Secretary quickly struck back, with an ally saying the move was ‘clearly designed to distract from the situation on the ground in Ukraine’.

It comes after experts warned Putin putting Russia’s nuclear deterrent on ‘alert’ ‘sounds like a direct threat of nuclear war’.

Mr Blackford also rejected claims put forward by Defence Secretary Ben Wallace that an independent Scotland would be more vulnerable to terrorism threats and Russian aggression if it became independent.

He said: ‘Well, I think he makes a lot of wrong assumptions. One of the wrong assumptions that he makes is that Scotland would be standing alone. Scotland wouldn’t be standing alone.’

Mr Blackford added: ‘The SNP Scottish government is very clear that an independent Scotland, amongst other things, would seek to be a member of Nato. We would be alongside our friends or partners in the Western world, and we would want to make sure that we’re taking our responsibilities for defence and security just as any other independent country does.’

On whether an independent Scotland would be able to join Nato, Mr Blackford appeared positive given its ‘strategic importance’.

He said: ‘I think Nato made it clear that it seeks to work with those that apply for membership. And I think given our strategic importance, and our desire to be a constructive voice within the family of nations of Nato… just as we would be back in Europe as well.

‘Let’s not forget the importance of defence and security in Europe. I look forward to the constructive discussions that we will have.’