UK minister calls for end of Scottish Government ‘dithering’ on defence

New defence minister Luke Pollard has called on the Scottish Government to end its “dithering” on the sector.

The UK and Scottish governments have clashed in recent months over public funding for arms companies, with Edinburgh-based ministers refusing to give funding directly for the building of weapons.

The position was quietly relaxed last week as First Minister John Swinney announced there would be a pause on public funding for defence firms supplying regimes where there is concrete evidence of genocide – which he said included Israel.

Public funding to defence firms had previously been handed out for more indirect areas such as apprenticeships and a row had previously been sparked by Scotland’s refusal to fund a Rolls Royce welding skills centre in Glasgow, with UK ministers committing cash.

Speaking on the same day the UK Government announces a series defence growth deals worth £250 million – with about £50 million coming to Scotland – Mr Pollard told BBC Radio Scotland: “I think there’s a bright future ahead, and that’s why I want to see the Scottish Government and the UK Government working more closely on this.

“In the past, we haven’t seen, I’m afraid, that commitment to defence from the Scottish Government that I would like to see and, with so many jobs in Scotland reliant on defence industries, I want to see us working more closely together.

“Whether we’re different parties or not should not matter – this is about our national security and this Government is firmly committed to delivering more for defence.

“I hope that the dithering that we’ve seen from the Scottish Government ends because there’s good jobs that can be created here, young people that haven’t got an apprenticeship that could secure one if we can work together and grow the economy in Scotland together.”

Scotland’s growth deal will be unveiled in the coming months, the Ministry of Defence has said, with a focus on skills an innovation, but the defence minister hinted it may not be the end of investment in the sector north of the border.

“I’m expecting even more investment to be coming to Scotland in the coming months, because we know that it’s not just about the heritage of industrial production we see in Scotland, ” he said.

“I see a workforce on the top of their game, brilliant young people learning their crafts, people with years of experience handing down their expertise to the next generation.

“There’s a huge opportunity here and what the Government’s saying is we want to seize it with both hands and we want to work not just with the Scottish Government, but with local councils and business groups to make sure that we’re squeezing every single pound of value out of that increased defence spending.”

The announcement of the growth deals comes just a week after the Norwegian Government signed a £10 billion order for warships to be built at the BAE shipyard in Glasgow.