THE Scottish first minister Alex Salmond is to issue a direct challenge to Westminster’s control of UK defence policy by seeking to ban the transportation of nuclear weapons on Scottish soil.

Salmond aims to use powers devolved to the Scottish parliament to prevent the regular shipment of Trident warheads and components by road north of the border.

Convoys of 10 or more vehicles travel the 500-mile route from the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston, in Berkshire, to the Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport, Argyllshire - where the warheads are fitted to missiles - up to six times a year.

All four of the UK’s Trident-equipped submarines are based at the nearby Faslane naval base on the Clyde.

Salmond aims to use his position as head of the Scottish executive to invoke European commission regulations governing the protection of the environment.

Although the UK government is ultimately responsible for policing such directives, much of the work is delegated to Scottish ministers and their environment agencies.

One of them, the habitats directive, was recently used to ban the ship-to-ship transfer of crude oil in the Firth of Forth on the grounds that any accident would have a catastrophic effect on the environment.

Salmond has also raised the possibility of introducing legislation in the Scottish parliament to prevent the £25 billion replacement for the Trident nuclear missile programme being sited north of the border.

It is the latest example of the Scottish National party leader’s “independence creep” agenda that aims to create the impression Holyrood is on a par with Westminster. Last week he unilaterally announced that the name of the Scottish executive had been changed to the Scottish government.

Next month he is to hold a summit of ministers and antinuclear campaigners on the Trident issue. Robin Harper, leader of the Scottish Green party, will be one of those attending.

Salmond has previously floated the idea of imposing a £1m road toll on every warhead shipped to the Clyde. However in an interview with The Sunday Times, he said his administration would have a greater chance of blocking the movement of nuclear weapons on environmental grounds.

The first minister denied he was engaged in a stunt aimed at stoking tensions between Holyrood and Westminster.

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