00 22/01/2007 14:45
Da The Scotsman. Finirà in una bolla di sapone o ci sarà davvero un seguito? Stay tuned...

Rivals round on SNP's £1m Trident toll plan
LOUISE GRAY
SCOTTISH POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT
NATIONALIST plans to introduce a £1 million "toll" on Trident nuclear warheads transported north of the Border would lead to severe cuts in spending on schools and hospitals, it was claimed yesterday.

Alex Salmond, the SNP leader, wants to introduce a levy on convoys delivering and removing the devices from the Faslane naval base on the Clyde.


He said the "Trident toll" would bring in £85 million to Scotland's coffers each year.

The tax is the latest move by Mr Salmond to prove Scotland can challenge Westminster policy without full independence.

He said: "It is right to tax the bad things on environmental grounds - and nuclear weapons are among the very worst.

"We hope this will make the UK government think again about bringing a new generation of nuclear bombs to Scotland's shores."

But Iain Smith, a Liberal Democrat MSP, said the Scotland Act allows Westminster to claw back any taxes levied on the UK government by Holyrood by cutting the funding given for public services north of the Border.

He said: "We know the SNP's sums never add up, but not working out that this policy would mean budget cuts for schools and hospitals shows just how irresponsible they can be."

Adam Ingram, the armed forces minister, claims 26,000 jobs in the defence industry would be under threat if Scotland became independent - including 7,000 jobs at Faslane.

He said: "Rather than tell us the true cost of their defence plans, the SNP go for diversionary publicity stunts."
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