UK Minister for Defence Readiness Luke Pollard has accused SNP leader John Swinney of "doing Putin's dirty work" after the First Minister claimed Scotland's coastline is being left "dangerously exposed".
Speaking during a visit to the Navantia fabrication yard in Methil, Fife, Pollard responded to Swinney's recent comments at the SNP conference, where he said the UK Government is "failing to keep Scotland secure".
Investment in Scottish shipbuilding
The Fife yard is set to benefit from Navantia's plan to recruit 750 apprentices across its UK operations as it prepares to build three Fleet Solid Support ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.
Methil is also expected to be one of the bases delivering the Project Euston contract for the Ministry of Defence, which will build three floating docks and associated infrastructure for the Faslane naval base on the Clyde.
Pollard pointed to substantial investment in naval shipbuilding on the Clyde and at Rosyth, as well as the existing RAF presence in the north of Scotland.
Minister's response to Swinney
The Labour MP told LBC: "At this very moment, we have RAF Typhoons at Lossiemouth providing quick reaction, and we have the carrier strike force led by HMS Prince of Wales in the high north defending our waters and our air space."
He added: "We also see huge investment in shipbuilding right across Scotland. While we're increasing defence spending in Scotland to create more jobs and opportunities, of course the SNP would want to create more division and try and rip us apart. But actually, I'm not interested in anyone doing Putin's dirty work for us."
Pollard continued: "We've got a growing defence budget, we've got more opportunities in Scotland, and we've got first class Armed Forces that keep our entire nation safe."
Swinney's conference remarks
Speaking at the SNP conference in Aberdeen last week, Swinney said: "In this uncertain world, what is certain is that the UK is failing to keep Scotland secure."
He added: "Nuclear weapons have always been an obscenity. But in the world of today - a world of hybrid warfare, of drones, of sabotage, of cyber attacks – Nuclear weapons have never been so obsolete."
The First Minister concluded: "The UK has the means to kill millions of people in minutes. Yet Scotland's vast coastline is left dangerously exposed."
