The Scottish Government has made no attempt to contact the MoD over the defence capabilities of a separate Scotland.
It was revealed today in First Minister’s Questions that not only had the SNP not sought assurances from the MoD, but any discussions it had with Nato would be kept secret for at least another year.
It raises questions around the SNP’s preparation for separation, after it emerged last week it had received no legal advice on automatic entry to the EU, despite Alex Salmond suggestion to the contrary in an earlier televised interview.
The Scottish Conservatives requested to see all correspondence between the Scottish Government and the MoD on ‘the future of defence in an independent Scotland’, with the latter responding that no such correspondence existed.
When Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson wrote to Alex Salmond requesting what advice he had taken on the possibility of Scotland leaving Nato, a response stated simply that all would be revealed in late 2013.
Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson MSP said:
“Once again Alex Salmond has refused to say whether he has spoken to Nato, just as his deputy refused on Tuesday. He offered more assertions about how Scotland could be part of Nato while abolishing nuclear deterrents from the Clyde, without saying how this could possibly be the case.
Never before has a Nato member ordered the removal of its own permanent nuclear base. Because of this confusion surrounding defence, not to mention the other issues, I asked the MoD what discussions have taken place with the Scottish Government on this. The answer is there has been no contact between the two, and once again this shows there are no facts to back up the First Minister’s assertions.
This is an approach to separation which is at best complacent, and at worse appallingly negligent. How can the people of Scotland be expected to vote on such a crucial matter when the cheerleaders for separation haven’t even tried to answer the most fundamental of questions?”
