Press Release on 13th September 2007

PRESS RELEASE
13 September 2007
‘Trident illegal’, say Scottish lawyers

A group of leading Scottish lawyers has challenged the legality of the Trident nuclear weapons system.

Representatives of the group (Frances McCartney and Daniel Fenn) attended the Faslane naval base today, seeking a meeting with the Commander of the base, Commodore Carolyn Stait, and calling on the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Defence to remove Trident from Scotland.

Scottish Lawyers against Trident includes members of the legal profession and leading legal academics. Human rights lawyer, Hilary Patrick, their spokesperson, is an honorary fellow in the Law School at Edinburgh University and was recently awarded the MBE for her services to mental health law in Scotland. She said:

‘The legality of these horrific weapons is, at the very least, questionable. Some of our members consider it is illegal even to possess them. Their use would almost certainly breach international law, because nuclear weapons cannot distinguish between civilian and non-civilian targets.

Britain claims to have an ‘ethical’ foreign policy. Our defence policy should not be based on weapons which can never legally be used.

We call on the Scottish Government to remove Trident from Scotland and on the Ministry of Defence to seek more proportionate means of defending British interests. How can Britain complain about nuclear proliferation if we continue to increase our own nuclear capacity?’

The continued presence of Trident in Scotland could, Ms Patrick suggested, have serious consequences for relations between Scotland and Westminster.

‘We are told we live in a democracy. The majority of Scots do not want Trident here. If Westminster continues to force us to site them in Scotland, I believe this could threaten the union.’

Scottish Lawyers against Trident will join the mass rally at Faslane on 1 October, which marks the end of 365 days action at the base and has seen over one hundred groups attend to show their opposition to the renewal of Trident.
Note to editors
Copies of the group’s letters to Ministers are available on http://www.faslane365.org/en/scottish_lawyers

For further information, contact Hilary Patrick on 0774 884 6019