NUCLEAR weapons must be removed from the River Clyde within three years of an independence vote, SNP members agree.

At today's party conference, which is being held remotely, members voted by 528 to 14 in favour of a resolution calling upon "a future SNP government of an independent Scotland to remove nuclear weapons from Scotland within three years".

Speaking in favour of the move, SNP CND convener Bill Ramsay urged members not to allow HM Naval Base Clyde, which houses the Trident system, to become "Guantanamo on the Clyde", retained as UK territory in a sovereign Scottish state, and Joan Anderson of the party's Glasgow Kelvin branch spoke against the potential for a "Gibraltar model" which would allow "de facto colonial possession" of the site, near Helensburgh.

That's after the Financial Times published leaked proposals earlier this month which reveal ministers in London could seek to shift lease the base from a Scottish states.

Other suggestions include shifting the nuclear submarines and missiles to France or America. Devonport in Plymouth and Milford Haven in Wales have also been suggested as alternative sites.

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However, the Ministry of Defence dismissed the report, saying: "The UK is strongly committed to maintaining its credible and independent nuclear deterrent at HM Naval Base Clyde, which exists to deter the most extreme threats to the UK and our Nato allies.

"There are no plans to move the nuclear deterrent from HM Naval Base Clyde, which contributes to Scotland's and the wider UK's security and economy, and its supporting facilities are safe for local communities."

Under SNP defence diversification plans, the base could become the headquarters of an independent Scottish conventional military, a move which could cushion the local economy from the impact of Trident removal.