MSP hits out at passing nuclear convoy
Fleet is ‘ever present risk’ to Stirling says Ruskell
A nuclear convoy passed through Stirling and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park this week.
The cavalcade is believed to have been the latest of around ten to have passed through the area since the coronavirus lockdown.
The fleet, carrying Trident nuclear warheads, is believed to have travelled from RNAD Coulport, near Loch Long, on its way to Atomic Weapons Establishment Burghfield, near Reading, on Tuesday.
Lead- lined lorries carried the weapons on their journey.
The route saw the weapons travel along the A82, through Balloch, and on to the A811 to Stirling, passing through Buchlyvie.
Including an estimated 26 vehicles, the unmarked convoy is then said to have travelled along the M9 towards Edinburgh, taking the Edinburgh Bypass and then the A68 towards Jedburgh.
Nukewatch UK is a network of individuals who campaign against nuclear warhead convoys. It believes that as many as six warheads were part of the haul.
David Mackenzie, of Nukewatch, says that the convoy was most probably carrying the warhead to Burghfield with up to four of the vehicles in the convoy carrying warheads. He said: “Usually they will take the nuclear warheads from Couport, by Loch Long, and take them to Burghfield, in Reading for maintenance and then bring them back again
“The convoys travel on small roads throughout their journey and pass houses along the way, including passing through Buchlyvie.”
He also says one of the roads taken would have been the A68, which last week was partially washed away near to Fala village, about 15 miles south of Edinburgh, in torrential rain.
Mid Scotland and Fife Green MSP, Mark Ruskell, has long campaigned against the convoys travelling through highly populated areas. He says that he has received reports of up to ten convoys bypassing the area since March posing an “ever present risk to communities”. He added: “These weapons are an utter abomination, left over from a Cold War era and do nothing to address today’s security threats such as cyber terrorism. While we would need Scotland to become an independent state outside of NATO to remove these weapons, it’s vital that the Scottish Government does everything it can to make sure councils and emergency services are prepared for any eventuality involving these convoys. The likelihood of an incident remains low, but the hazards posed by these weapons are immense and the repeated overnight stops at the DSG Forthside barracks are reckless in the extreme, making the heart of Stirling a potential terrorist target.”
It’s understood that, when activated, the weapons have a blast range of around 600 meters and could potentially discharge highly dangerous plutonium in to an aerosol which could be harmful to the public. In the event of a disaster, the radiation range of the weapons could be as much as three miles.
In previous years there has been outrage when convoys made a one-hour stop at Forthside Barracks. It’s not believed that this week’s convoy stopped in Stirling.