Former UK CND Chair “Shocked” SNP won’t commit to independent Scotland nuke ban

The former UK CND Chair’s comments come as SNP Constitution Secretary Angus Robertson revealed today that his party would not commit an independent Scotland to sign an international treaty banning nuclear weapons, in an apparent U-turn on previous Scottish Government policy.

ALBA Party's plan to remove NUCLEAR WEAPONS from Scotland by the first day Scotland being an independent country has been backed by the former Chair of UK CND as she hits out at the “shocking revelation” that the SNP no longer want to see Nuclear Weapons banned from an independent Scotland

Marjorie Ellis Thompson, the former Chair of UK CND, joined Alba Party because of what she says is “ Alba Party’s clear commitment to the removal of weapons of mass destruction from the Clyde.”

However, Angus Robertson made the admission today that the SNP would not seek a Nuke ban as he spoke to journalists at the launch of a new white paper on an independent Scotland’s place in the world.

The paper, the 11th in a series laying out the Scottish Government’s position on policy areas post-independence, argues: “As an independent country, Scotland could negotiate directly, and become a state party to treaties, conventions or agreements which the UK has not signed or ratified. These include the Revised European Social Charter…”

However, despite frequent mentions of nuclear weapons and the bases at Faslane and Coulport, the paper does not mention the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which Nicola Sturgeon had previously indicated an independent Scotland would sign.

NATO, the nuclear alliance which the new white paper argues Scotland will seek to join, has called the TPNW incompatible with the policy of nuclear deterrence and no member states have signed.

Commentators are divided on whether a state that has signed the TPNW could join NATO.

Asked about the absence of the TPNW in the new white paper, Angus Robertson said a Scottish Government would inherit obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which was signed in 1968.

However, he would not commit to signing the TPNW, which calls for an outright ban on nuclear weapons while the NPT only looks to prevent new countries acquiring them.

Pressed on support for the TPNW, which is a different treaty and was first signed in 2017, Robertson said: “We will inherit our treaty obligations as part of the non-proliferation treaty. And then, of course, all other treaties are matters for the government of the day.

“What I have said repeatedly now is we actually want to live up to our commitments, which the United Kingdom shares, which is for nuclear disarmament, working with the international community to do that, and that's exactly what we will do.”

In 2017, the UK, US, and France – the three NATO members with nuclear capabilities – issued a joint statement rejecting the TPNW, saying it “clearly disregards the realities of the international security environment”.

At the same time, the three nations also made clear a “continued commitment” to the non-proliferation treaty.

Robertson’s statement therefore looks to have brought the Scottish Government into line with UK policy, moving away from former first minister Sturgeon’s statements.

ALBA Party’s Ellis Thompson has hit out at the SNP’s “Nuke ban U-turn”.

The former UK CND Chair has backed ALBA’s call that should Scotland vote for independence then the negotiating party of an independent Scotland should ensure that Trident is removed from Scotland by the first day of Scotland being re-established as an independent country.

Alba Party policy states that an independent Scotland should become a signatory of the TPNW.

Former UK CND and Alba Party National Executive Committee Chair Marjorie Ellis Thompson member said:

“It is absolutely possible to have Weapons of Mass Destruction removed from Scotland by day one of independence if we make that a priority, it would be a political decision to allow Trident to stay in Scotland after we become independent.

“It is a shocking revelation that the SNP have decided they will not support a nuke ban in an independent Scotland. The Scottish independence movement has long been associated with the campaign for nuclear disarmament and this U-turn is nothing but a betrayal of decades of support by this group.

“ALBA Party have set out our clear principle that we are for the immediate removal of Nuclear Weapons from Scotland, something that is only possible with independence and that an independent Scotland would join the nations of the world signed up to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. This is why I have found the ALBA Party as a natural home for someone who is a lifelong campaigner for Nuclear Disarmament and a supporter of Scottish independence.”