The SNP has come under fire after its Westminster defence spokesman, Angus Robertson, said armed forces from across the UK could continue to be based in an independent Scotland.
He said a split from the UK would bring more money and more jobs to Scotland’s military bases in Moray, Angus and the Highlands.
Mr Robertson also claimed yesterday that his proposal would allow Scotland to pick and choose which operations its soldiers took on.
His comments were branded “complete fantasy” by opponents, who claimed Scottish independence would result in thousands of defence jobs being cut.
Speaking before the SNP’s annual conference, which opens in Inverness this week, Mr Robertson called for a Scottish defence review to ensure policy reflected the nation’s priorities.
He said figures obtained from the Ministry of Defence showed Scotland had almost 10,000 fewer defence jobs than it did in 1997.
The Moray MP also claimed there had been a “defence underspend” of £4.3billion in the country between 2002 and 2006 because an unfair proportion of taxpayers’ money had been invested south of the border.
Mr Robertson argued that a review would demonstrate the benefits of independence.
“It is perfectly possible to envisage circumstances in which we share basing, procurement and training facilities with the rest of the present UK – our foremost friend and ally,” he said.
Mr Robertson said independence would bring increased security for people working at Scotland’s military bases and he dismissed claims by a Scotland Office spokesman that independence would lead to 2,000 jobs being cut in Moray alone.
He would not comment specifically on the future of bases such as RM Condor, the Arbroath home of 45 Commando Royal Marines, but said: “We are committed to retaining all military facilities in Scotland that currently operate and that the number of service personnel based in Scotland will be maintained, if not exceeded.
“We need the number of bases that we’ve got.”
Looking to garrisons such as Fort George in Inverness and Redford Barracks in Edinburgh, he said the SNP would be happy for soldiers from UK countries to be based there, but added that the party hoped to bring more Scots soldiers home.
“We would want to see Scottish recruits based in Scotland so service personnel are closer to their families,” he said. “If it makes sense for them to be training elsewhere, then that’s what reasonable countries do. But we want to have them as close to home as possible.”
Mr Robertson highlighted the fact that the SNP held constituency seats in all the major military areas of Scotland – Moray, Angus and the Highlands.
“One of the reasons is that we hop up and down for the people who work there and the facilities that we have,” he said.
“The SNP has fought against every recent military downgrading, whether on Benbecula or in Moray.”
Last night, SNP opponents launched a scathing attack on Mr Robertson’s proposals.
Tory MP and shadow Scottish secretary David Mundell said the plan made no sense.
“He can’t expect to break up Britain and have the rest of the United Kingdom dance to his tune,” he said. “His defence policy doesn’t stack up and would threaten tens of thousands of jobs in Scotland.”
A Scotland Office spokesman predicted a grim future.
“This is a complete fantasy,” he said. “Separating Scotland entirely from Britain would devastate communities across the country.
“In all, 20,000 defence-related jobs would be at risk. In Moray, 2,000 jobs would go – no Trident, no Nimrod, no Kinloss.
“In a world in which rogue nations are seeking nuclear weapons, it is madness for the SNP to suggest that Scotland should be defenceless.”
Former defence minister Des Browne dismissed the SNP proposals and said they demonstrated the party’s lack of understanding of defence issues.
The Labour MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun said: “Angus Robertson’s latest proposals appear to have been made up on the back of an envelope, but they reveal just how little the SNP understand about defence. They seem to want Scotland to just be a big military base for the remainder of the UK.
“In coming up with this latest suggestion, Robertson has admitted that the SNP have no idea how to raise the forces necessary to defend Scotland. In the absence of any policy, they simply want the rest of the UK to do it for them.
“This is also an admission that they have realised that Scotland cannot afford to lose the jobs and investment that UK defence brings so they will just ask the rest of the UK to spend that money here.”
Mr Browne added that no thought had been given to whether England, Wales and Northern Ireland would allow the status quo to continue if Scotland left the Union.