by Peter Lazenby

SNP politician Bill Kidd will today re-state the party’s determination to rid Scotland of Trident in an address to an international anti-nuclear conference.

At the Building a Nuclear Weapon-Free World conference in Astana, Kazakhstan the Glasgow Anniesland MSP will say: “Scotland is the unwilling host to the UK’s Trident nuclear weapon’s system, with the Scottish government as well as the majority of the Scottish Parliament and the churches and civic society all having made clear their opposition to this situation.

“Nuclear weapons are capable of doing unimaginable damage and should be seen as morally repugnant regardless of the situation — but for the British government to commit to renewing Trident at a cost of £167 billion while cutting public spending across the board is simply unbelievable.”

The visit comes a month after MPs voted by a majority of 355 in favour of renewing the fleet of Trident nuclear submarines based on the River Clyde.

Mr Kidd will describe PM Theresa May’s unflinching assertion during the debate that she would press the red button as “chilling,” adding:“The SNP is clear that on achieving independence we will have all nuclear weapons removed as quickly and safely as possible from Scotland — but the fight does not stop there.

“Our party believes firmly in international solidarity and would continue to make the case for a world free of these immoral weapons of mass destruction.”

Other participants in the conference will include former Italian prime minister Romano Prodi, former prime minister of Israel Ehud Barak and former president of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski.
It is being held to mark the UN’s International Day against Nuclear Tests.

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