THE Ministry of Defence (MoD) has dismissed calls from an SNP MSP for a public inquiry into nuclear leaks at Trident bases, claiming it is "factually incorrect" to suggest they posed a safety risk.
Earlier this week Bill Kidd, the Glasgow Anniesland MSP, held a debate on reported nuclear safety incidents at Faslane and Coulport, where Britain’s nuclear fleet and arsenal are stored.
Kidd secured the backing of 28 MSPs from the SNP, Scottish Greens, Scottish Labour, Alba, and one independent.
However, the motion was not voted on as it was debated as member's business after decision time.
It comes after The Ferret revealed that nuclear waste leaked into Loch Long, in Argyll and Bute.
The outlet reported that pipe bursts were recorded in 2010, two in 2019, and two more in 2021. After an FOI battle that lasted six years, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Sepa) – the environment watchdog – stated the Royal Navy failed to properly maintain a network of 1500 pipes at the Coulport armaments depot, on the banks of Loch Long.
Coulport holds the supply of nuclear warheads for the Navy’s fleet of Trident submarines, which are based at HMNB Clyde at Faslane, near Helensburgh.
It was also revealed that a serious nuclear incident – a Category A event – took place at Faslane earlier this year.
The motion called on the MoD to ensure “the highest safety standards at these sites, particularly given their proximity to communities in Argyll and Bute and the wider west of Scotland”.
Following the debate, Kidd demanded that the UK Government investigate the leaks and near-misses and make the findings public. He also called on Holyrood’s Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee to conduct its own probe.
“It is nothing short of scandalous that the Scottish Government and this Parliament are being kept in the dark about Category A nuclear incidents on our own soil,” Kidd said.
“The MoD’s refusal to share vital details — while blandly assuring us that there was ‘no risk to the public’ — is secrecy at its worst. Our communities are not hostile powers.
“They are the unwitting hosts, and they have every right to know the truth.
“The radioactive contamination of Loch Long, the doubling of tritium emissions from Coulport, and the repeated leaks and near-misses revealed only through Freedom of Information requests paint a deeply alarming picture.
“This is not only a safety failure. It is a public health scandal, an environmental scandal, and a democratic scandal.”
Kidd, a long-time anti-nuclear weapons campaigner, reiterated his call for a transparent public investigation into the incidents, adding: “Until Trident is removed from Scotland altogether, we must demand full transparency, proper oversight, and the safety our people are entitled to.”
The National asked the MoD if it would respond to the MSP's call for a public inquiry.
A spokesperson for the department declined to comment on the specific call for a probe, instead insisting that there is a “robust safety culture” in place.
“We place the upmost importance on handling radioactive substances safely and securely,” the spokesperson added.
“HMNB Clyde has a robust safety culture which complies with international best practice as set out by the International Atomic Energy Agency. This is independently overseen by the Defence Nuclear Safety Regulator, the Office for Nuclear Regulation, and the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency.
“The reported incidents posed no safety risk to the public or the environment. It is factually incorrect to suggest otherwise.
"Our government backs our nuclear deterrent as the ultimate guarantor of our national security, just as we back the Scottish defence industry.”
Speaking in the Holyrood Chamber on Tuesday, Kidd said reports of a Category A event required “urgent scrutiny” and that the environmental implications “cannot be overstated”.
He described the MoD’s response as “woefully inadequate”, adding: “The refusal to release incident-specific data, with the citing of operational security, prevents meaningful scrutiny and accountability.”
Scottish Greens MSP Maggie Chapman told MSPs: “Those incidents threaten our environment, our health and our trust in the institutions that are meant to protect us. “To say ‘no harm to the public’ or 'no radiological impact’ is cold comfort, given that latent risks multiply over time and near misses can become disasters, especially if nuclear weapons and radioactive materials are involved.
“The magnitude of the potential harm demands far more than assurances—it demands action.”
Rural Affairs Secretary Mairi Gougeon told the Chamber that the “highest standards of safety” at nuclear sites in Scotland are of the “utmost importance”, and it was “deeply regrettable” that the MoD has not released details of the incidents at Faslane.
