I SYMPATHISE with Isobel Lindsay's frustration at the SNP backtracking on a timetable for nuclear disarmament (Letters, July 3).

First they rubbished those who said this would be the most complex of all the negotiations following a Yes vote. Now they accept disarmament could take at least a decade. The SNP will always put independence before any other policy of convenience. If they were to get a Yes vote, I foresee the leadership wringing its hands a few years down the line and blaming the remaining UK for frustrating its non-nuclear objective and announcing that they are leasing the base territory to the UK so that, technically, there will be no nuclear weapons on Scottish soil.

It would be more productive to concentrate efforts on persuading a future UK Government to abandon the replacement of Trident and recast Britain as a proponent of "soft power", building on its success in international development and addressing environmental issues.

The threats facing the world today are not the same as in the second half of the 20th century. Global instability is caused by terrorism, cyberwarfare, economic, political and social upheaval and environmental issues. An independent nuclear deterrent does nothing to address these issues.

Alastair Osborne,

Seil Cottage, Park Court, Symington, Ayrshire.