Defence cuts: Security ‘weakened’ at Faslane after MoD axe 1,800 police

SECURITY at the home of Britain’s nuclear deterrent on the Clyde could be undermined after the Ministry of Defence yesterday announced that it was sacking 1,800 of its police, opponents to the cuts have warned.

The MoD police are responsible for guarding Faslane – the home of Trident – and Coulport and other sensitive sites, and last night the SNP and Labour were demanding urgent clarification over where the axe will fall.

The cuts, first revealed by The Scotsman in December, were confirmed by defence minister Andrew Robathan yesterday and will see the MoD police downsized to about 2,400 by April 2016.

This will mean fewer security staff at some sites and a shift to more security being undertaken by staff who do not require police powers. Local police forces will also be utilised more.

Mr Robathan insisted that security would be maintained at all sites, with a mixture of further measures due to be examined thoroughly after staff were consulted last year.

He said the MoD carried out a review of its civil policing and guarding policy in the wake of the Comprehensive Spending Review and the Strategic Defence and Security Review earlier in the parliament.

He said it was the MoD’s “duty” to make savings both for the benefit of the taxpayer and to ensure resources are focused on the front line.

Savings are set to be found by relying more on physical security and less on the continuous presence of personnel, giving regular service personnel a greater role and reviewing where security can be carried out without policing powers.

Regular local police forces have primacy in pursuing incidents and criminal investigations anyway, Mr Robathan said.