OPPOSITION politicians are to be invited to a summit on the future of the Trident nuclear deterrent in Scotland.
The meeting, to be held next month, will discuss UK Government plans for the nuclear weapons system based at the Clyde Naval Base at Faslane.
In a letter to groups invited to the summit, Bruce Crawford, the SNP minister for parliamentary business
, said he wanted a "balanced discussion embracing different perspectives" on the issue. The summit, to take place in the West End of Glasgow on October 22, will look at the impact of nuclear weapons on the economy and the local community, present law and order implications, as well as environmental issues.
Invitations have been sent to the main political parties, churches, trade unions, peace and disarmament organisations, local authorities and academics. The SNP is committed to removing nuclear weapons from Scotland and to withdrawing from Nato because of the Atlantic Alliance's possession of the Bomb. However, defence is a matter reserved to the Westminster Parliament and not a matter on which Holyrood can rule.
Labour has claimed that removing the weapons would be a blow to the Scottish economy and that the livelihoods of 11,000 shipyard workers depend on Trident.
In the letter, Crawford said: "I see the summit as being the beginning of a dialogue with key people from across civic Scotland who share a common desire to shape our country's future as a peaceful, modern, forward-looking nation.
"We have already begun a national conversation with the people of Scotland on the options for constitutional change and further development of the way we govern ourselves.
"I see a discussion about the implications of the replacement of Trident for Scotland and on the Scottish Government's devolved responsibilities as an important contribution to the national conversation."
The summit follows a Holyrood vote in June in which MSPs voted by 71 votes to 16, with 39 abstentions, against the UK Government's proposals to replace the nation's nuclear deterrent. Crawford added: "During the debate, I signalled our intention to hold a summit of key stakeholders to reflect on the views of the majority of Scots and carefully consider which aspects of the UK Government's plans to replace Trident impact on our responsibilities in Scotland under devolution.
"I made it clear that we will do all that we can, in light of those responsibilities, to persuade the UK Government to change its stance both on the replacement programme and on the general principle of maintaining and deploying nuclear weapons in Scotland."
But Labour says the summit is unnecessary. A Scotland Office source said: "The future of the UK's nuclear deterrent was debated in the House of Commons.
"The SNP are out of touch with Scottish voters in demanding unilateral nuclear disarmament. The majority of Scots want Britain to keep nuclear weapons while other countries have them. This conference is reminiscent of the extreme left-wing posturing of the 1980s and shows that the Nationalists would rather play politics than address the real challenges facing Scotland."
Some opponents of nuclear weapons being based in Scotland say that Holyrood could arrange it so that the transport of the warheads on Scottish roads could become illegal.
