SNP MSP Bill Kidd has tabled a motion calling attention to incidents at Faslane and Coulport, where Britain’s nuclear fleet and arsenal are stored, which he said posed an “unacceptable” risk to Scots.
It comes after The Ferret revealed that nuclear waste leaked into Loch Long, in Argyll and Bute.
Pipe bursts were recorded in 2010, two in 2019 and two more in 2021, the investigative journalism outlet reported.
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Kidd’s motion, which stops short of condemning the nuclear programme outright, notes the incidents and raises the “concerns of constituents […] across Scotland”, calling on the Ministry of Defence to ensure “ensuring the highest safety standards at these sites, particularly given their proximity to communities in Argyll and Bute and the wider west of Scotland”.
He has called on politicians from all sides to back his motion, which has already been signed by Greens MSPs Patrick Harvie and Mark Ruskell.
Kidd (above) said: “Labour are playing fast and loose with the safety of communities in Scotland.
“These so-called ‘near-misses’ are serious safety failures, exposing Scottish people and our environment to unacceptable risks. Nuclear weapons are not only immoral, they are unsafe, unwanted, and a danger to the very people the UK government claims they are here to protect.
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“I am calling on every MSP to put party allegiances to one side and stand up for their constituents by sending the strongest possible message to the UK government that Scotland will not accept second-rate safety standards, nor weapons of mass destruction on our soil.”
Scottish Parliament opposition parties and the Ministry of Defence were approached for comment.
