KATE Devlin asserts ("The Big Question:
Trident", The Herald, August 22), that in the longer term a new home for Trident could be built in England, Wales or Northern Ireland. But detailed research by Scottish CND has established that there is no viable site.
A recent report by the Royal United Services Institute suggested that a replacement for the Coulport nuclear weapons depot could be built at Falmouth. This prompted outrage from across the political spectrum in Cornwall. Sarah Newton, Conservative MP for Truro and Falmouth, said that the Ministry of Defence had assured her that Falmouth was not a suitable site and she agreed with their verdict.
Labour councillor Hanna Toms said: "We live in an area of outstanding natural beauty, which is a great tourist attraction and it is a completely unsuitable place to be storing nuclear weapons."
Green Party MEP Molly Scott Cato promised to do all she could "to resist these deadly weapons being based in the south-west". Even Admiral Lord West, a cheerleader for Trident and defender of the Union, dismissed the Falmouth proposal, in an interview on Radio Scotland on May 9.
In addition to the impact on the tourism industry, there would be major problems with purchasing the necessary land and obtaining planning permission. Crucially, the facility could not comply with safety standards because the site is too close to the town of Falmouth.
A Yes vote is likely to result in the removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland. This would be a major achievement in itself. But the consequences of independence would be even greater. We can reasonably expect that London would decide to scrap Trident, because Falmouth and the other sites are not viable.
Our votes on September 18 can have a positive influence far beyond our shores. Ray Acheson, one of today's leading international disarmament campaigners, said that Scottish independence could be the most significant development for international nuclear disarmament efforts in many years. We should not let this rare opportunity slip through our fingers.
John Ainslie,
Co-ordinator, Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, 77 Southpark Avenue, Glasgow.
I AGREE with Ian Johnstone (Letters, August 19). My father fought in the First World War. I will never forget seeing him watching a television programme about that war with tears running down his face. He was a founding member of the SNP and until the day he died he believed that Scotland would be much better off out of Westminster control.
Miss IM Gibson,
37 Wallace Street, Dumfries.
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