“Major changes” would have to be made to Fife’s defence industry in the event of independence, a Scottish Government minister has admitted.
Education Secretary Mike Russell’s statement about Rosyth was seized on by the Labour Party as an admission the dockyard would close with the loss of “thousands of jobs”.
The fall-out came as SNP Veterans’ Minister Keith Brown challenged UK Defence Secretary Philip Hammond to debate plans for a Scottish Defence Force.
When asked about Rosyth’s dockyard during a question-and-answer session in Dunfermline, Mr Russell said: “There are implications for defence jobs on this side of the country and clearly there will have to be major changes.
“But there will also require to be a substantial investment in defence activities, which becomes easier and more obvious how you do it if you don’t absorb a huge part of your budget in nuclear weapons, and particularly in Trident.
“That skews everything, those involved in defence in Scotland have taken a pummelling in recent years because the budget is skewed towards nuclear weapons.”
Labour’s Dunfermline and West Fife MP Thomas Docherty told The Courier: “Mike Russell has let the cat out of the bag.
“He’s accidentally let slip the truth after separation, Rosyth will close and we will lose thousands of jobs in Fife and the East of England.
“Now that this has been admitted by the SNP, it’s only right that they now tell us the details of their cuts so that all the businesses and jobs that will be devastated can know what the vote in September will mean to them.
“It’s time for the SNP to be straight with the people of Fife.”
Meanwhile, Angus South SNP MSP Graeme Dey criticised Mr Hammond in Holyrood for making a “flying” visit to RM Condor and asked Mr Brown if he would welcome a “face-to-face debate” with the UK Defence Secretary.
Ochil MSP Mr Brown replied: “I have made a public request of Philip Hammond that, rather than jetting into Scotland and then scurrying away immediately afterwards without answering questions, he stays and debates some of those important issues with me.”