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| Scottish independence: Downing Street dismisses MoD's 'keep Faslane' idea | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Downing Street said designating Trident's Faslane base as sovereign British territory in the event of a yes to independence was "not credible". | Downing Street said designating Trident's Faslane base as sovereign British territory in the event of a yes to independence was "not credible". |
| The prime minister's office reacted to reports that the Ministry of Defence had been looking at the idea. | |
| The Scottish government's SNP administration has always said that if independence happened it would remove nuclear weapons from the Clyde base. | The Scottish government's SNP administration has always said that if independence happened it would remove nuclear weapons from the Clyde base. |
| The people of Scotland are going to be voting in an independence referendum. | |
| On 18 September, 2014, the electorate will be asked the yes/no question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" | On 18 September, 2014, the electorate will be asked the yes/no question: "Should Scotland be an independent country?" |
| Reports in the Guardian newspaper on Thursday suggested the UK government could give Faslane - where 6,000 people are employed - a status similar to that of British military bases in Cyprus, designated as sovereign territory. | |
| The newspaper suggested the move would be designed to maintain access for the Trident fleet to the open seas via the Firth of Clyde. | |
| A Downing Street spokesman said such a plan was not "credible or sensible". | |
| He added that no such idea had come to the defence secretary or the prime minister and would not be supported by them if they did. | |
| An MoD spokesman said it was confident Scotland would remain part of the UK and that the scale and cost of relocating the base in the event of a yes vote would be "enormous". | |
| Reacting to the Guardian story, Scotland's Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused the UK government of making an "outrageous attempt at bullying". | |
| In an interview with BBC Radio Scotland's Good Morning Scotland programme, she said: "I cannot see how they could do this without the agreement of the Scottish government - and speaking for my party that is not an agreement which would be forthcoming. | |
| "We want to see Trident gone from Scotland because these weapons are immoral, they are also not needed." | |
| Ms Sturgeon also reiterated the SNP's "principled policy" of getting rid of Trident if Scotland was to become an independent country. | |
| She insisted that removing nuclear weapons from Clyde waters would not be used as a bargaining chip in post-independence discussions with the UK government. | |
| However, she urged ministers at Westminster to engage in "sensible discussions" about Scotland's Future ahead of next year's historic vote. |