SNP MSP Bill Kidd today called on Gordon Brown to listen to Scotland and to abandon plans to replace the Trident nuclear weapons system after figures revealed the real financial cost of maintaining Trident.

New figures released in the House of Commons show the cost of maintaining nuclear weapons to be nearly £2 billion per year, with far more due to be spent on a new generation of Trident nuclear weapons for the Clyde.

Commenting on the figures Glasgow MSP Bill Kidd, who recently attended an international nuclear non-proliferation conference in Geneva said: "Trident is wrong regardless of cost but these figures add strongly to the case against these despicable weapons.

"Nearly £2 billion a year is being spent on the upkeep of nuclear weapons, with another £75 billion due to be spent on Trident's replacement.

"That is money that could be put to better use in our society, our country or even supporting our under funded frontline troops.

"The STUC have already shown that far from preserving jobs in Scotland spending on Trident suppresses the Scottish economy.

"Scotland and the UK have nothing to gain by retaining or building new nuclear weapons, yet they will lose any credibility in tackling international nuclear proliferation.

"The UK Government must listen to Scotland, there is no desire for new nuclear weapons, there is no support for new nuclear weapons and the Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government oppose new nuclear weapons.

"To build a "son of trident" would be an act of immense folly by Gordon Brown.

"Across Europe and around the world people are looking to Scotland to change the UK Government's mind. Instead of building new nuclear systems to sit in the Clyde the UK should take the lead in calling for an end to nuclear weapons by bringing an end to Trident."

Notes:

1. Answer from Defence Minister Bob Ainsworth;

"The annual expenditure for capital and running costs of the UK nuclear deterrent programme, including the costs of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, in each year from 1998 to 2008 is shown in the following table

£ billion at 2008-09 prices

1998-99 1.2 1999-2000 1.2
2000-01 1.2
2001-02 1.1
2002-03 1.1
2003-04 1.1
2004-05 1.2
2005-06 1.3
2006-07 1.6
2007-08 1.7

2. The Scottish Government has established a Working Group on Scotland without Nuclear Weapons.

3. The STUC report, Cancelling Trident the Economic and Employment consequences for Scotland can be found here.

4. Bill Kidd MSP attended the Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in Geneva on the 28th April.