Russia’s veiled threats against the UK feel more tangible in Helensburgh, the Scottish coastal town nestled close by one of Britain’s most important military sites.
Residents walking along the seafront are well aware that the UK’s nuclear-armed submarines slide silently up and down its open waters.
HMNB Clyde, better known as Faslane, is home to the submarines that carry the Trident weapons system, the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
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news – film
Rob Reiner wins posthumous Emmy Award for The Bear
Caption: Los Angeles, CA – December 15, 2025: Flowers are seen placed ontop of Rob Reiner’s Hollywood Walk of Fame Star on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025 in Los Angeles, CA. Nick Reiner was arrested on suspicion of homicide of his parents Rob and Michele Singer Reiner after they were found dead at their Brentwood home on Sunday. (Kayla Bartkowski / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Photographer: Kayla Bartkowski
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Source: Los Angeles Times
Copyright: 2025 Los Angeles Times
Hollywood director Rob Reiner has won a posthumous Emmy Award, nine months after his death.
How was Reiner killed?
Caption: (FILES) Director Rob Reiner and wife Michele Singer Reiner arrive for the Human Rights Campaign 2019 Los Angeles dinner at the JW Marriott LA Live on March 30, 2019 in Los Angeles. Police took Rob Reiner’s son into custody after the Hollywood director of hits including “When Harry Met Sally” and his wife were found dead in their Los Angeles home, US media reported on December 15, 2025. (Photo by JEAN-BAPTISTE LACROIX / AFP via Getty Images)
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What happened?
Reiner, 78, and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, 70, were found dead in their Los Angeles home last December.
How did they die?
The couple appeared to have died from multiple stab wounds.
Caption: Police stop vehicles from entering the Brentwood Park neighbourhood where the bodies of two elderly people were found at the home of Hollywood director Rob Reiner in Los Angeles, California, U.S. December 14, 2025. REUTERS/Jill Connelly
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Caption: NEW YORK, NY – MAY 04: Nick Reiner attends AOL Build Speaker Series at AOL Studios In New York on May 4, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Laura Cavanaugh/FilmMagic)
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Reiner’s son charged
The couple’s son Nick, 32, has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Reiner’s posthumous Emmy
On Sunday, Reiner was announced as one of the winners at this year’s Emmy Awards ceremony.
He won the award for outstanding guest actor in a comedy after playing Albert Schnurr in a 2025 episode of FX series The Bear.
Caption: The Bear — Pictured: Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto. CR: Frank Ockenfels/FX
The Bear
FX / Disney+
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Image from https://dam.gettyimages.com/s/crwqm3mp7w6sxj9f4qg583nc
Copyright: Copyright 2022, FX Networks. All rights reserved.
(Photo: Brian Ach/Invision/AP).
Record in the family
It comes 48 years after Reiner won the second of two Emmys for his role on All In The Family in 1978.
Reiner also broke the record for the longest gap between acting wins in Emmy history.
His father, Carl Reiner, previously held the record after winning the same category in 1995 for his role in Mad About You, 37 years after he first won for Caesar’s Hour.
Hollywood legend
Reiner was the director behind a number of cinematic classics, including When Harry Met Sally (1989), The Princess Bride (1987), and Stand By Me (1986).
After his latest Emmy win, presenter Wendi McLendon-Covey told the audience it was “appropriate to stand for this one”.
“I know we all wish Rob could be here tonight to share in the celebration. I’m honoured to accept this Emmy on his behalf,” she added.
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UK POLITICS
Why tax rises are ‘likely’ – despite what Chancellor says
John Healey delivers a speech at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry (Photo: AP)
John Healey took a Beach Boys approach to his first keynote speech: it was all Good Vibrations.
But here’s what he isn’t telling you…
What did the Chancellor say?
On Monday, John Healey gave his first speech on economic growth as Chancellor ahead of the budget on the 28 October.
Caption: Newly appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey gives his first all staff address at HM Treasury in central London. Picture date: Tuesday July 21, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire
Photographer: Stefan Rousseau
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In a speech in Coventry, Chancellor John Healey insisted the UK economy was ‘turning a corner’ as he promised to control government spending in next month’s Budget (Photo: Betty Laura Zapata/AP)
Healey gave un upbeat impression of the country’s economic future, promising: “More devolution, more public leadership and control, more investment, more innovation, more jobs”.
What else is the Chancellor planning?
1Public investment in the private sector- The Chancellor outlined his ambitions for pushing public finance institutions, known as PuFins, to deploy more private sector investment.
2Cutting red tape –Healey said he will cut Government red tape, such as excluding big infrastructure projects from facing the hold-up of judicial review from objectors.
3Fund for companies in the north – He also unveiled a £150m fund for companies in the north of England; however, in Treasury terms, this is pocket money.
Why taxes are still likely to rise…
The UK is uniquely susceptible to inflation given how tightly it controls the supply and the prices of the workforce, energy, land and capital.
Key decisions, including when the UK will be spending 3 per cent of GDP on defence, have been deferred until next year, leaving the question of cost to the taxpayer unanswered.
Donald Trump’s Iran war and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine also continue push up prices of energy and other resources.
Watch: Healey on tax rises
The Chancellor has refused to rule out tax rises in his first major speech on the economy. Speaking at the Manufacturing Technology Centre in Coventry, John Healey highlighted the need to “control borrowing to bear down on inflation” and to “reduce the long-term pressure on public finances”. Asked about taxes in the budget, Healey refused to comment on speculation, saying it will only “fuel more speculation”. Follow the story on our liveblog.
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Signs point to tax hikes
Some estimates suggest borrowing costs could take £12bn off the Government’s £23.6bn buffer against its fiscal rules. Up to another £4bn is expected to have evaporated due to lower-than-forecast net migration. Meanwhile, the VAT cut on electricity bills needs to be paid for as well.
It all makes for an even trickier Budget in late October, with the signs pointing to higher taxes or slashing spending.
Analysis
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Caption: Top candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), Ulrich Siegmund, with party co leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, reacts after polls closed, on the day of the Saxony-Anhalt state elections, in Magdeburg, Germany, September 6, 2026. REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
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news – politics
Germany’s far-right election result puts Europe on notice
Germany’s extreme-right party, backed by Donald Trump, has won a “sensational” victory in the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt.
Here’s what it could mean for Europe.
The election result
Preliminary results show that the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD) party secured a decisive victory in Saxony-Anhalt, winning 43.8 per cent of the vote to the ruling conservative CDU’s 17.2 per cent.
Caption: Far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party co-leaders Alice Weidel and Tino Chrupalla, and top candidate Ulrich Siegmund, pose for photos before a press conference the day after the Saxony-Anhalt state elections in Berlin, Germany, September 7, 2026. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen
Photographer: Liesa Johannssen
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Source: REUTERS
Caption: Co-leaders of Alternative for Germany party, or AfD, Alice Weidel, leaves a press conference in Berlin, Germany, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Photographer: Ebrahim Noroozi
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Having fallen short of an outright majority, the AfD cannot govern alone and will now need to engage in negotiations with rivals to form a coalition.
What do the results mean?
1If the AfD manages to form a government, it will mark the first time a far-right party has controlled a German state since WWII.
2Among its pledges, the AfD wants arts organisations to promote “German” culture and has promised “remigration”, including deporting naturalised Germans.
3In schools, meanwhile, it wants to ban the flying of the LGBT+ rainbow flag and said “patriotic” history should be emphasises over Nazi history.
Friends in high places
Despite concerns about its extremist ideology, the AfD has some high-profile fans.
Its “historic” election win has been praised by Russia’s presidential envoy Kirill Dmitriev.
The openly pro-Kremlin party has called for an end to Ukrainian aid.
AfD also counts the likes of Elon Musk and Donald Trump amongst its supporters.
Analysis
3 min read
Reactions to AfD victory
Caption: Ulrich Siegmund, top candidate of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party, talks to people during a campaign event ahead of Germany’s Saxony-Anhalt state election, in Oschersleben, Germany August 31, 2026. REUTERS/Thilo Schmuelgen
Photographer: Thilo Schmuelgen
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Ulrich Siegmund
The AfD’s regional leader said the “sensational” result was “a signal for the whole of Germany – a self-confident signal.”
Friedrich Merz
The German Chancellor, of rival party CDU, said he was “deeply shocked” by the result.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a press conference in Berlin on 9 April (Photo: RALF HIRSCHBERGER / AFP via Getty Images)
President Donald Trump reportedly had no idea that his Defence Secretary had dismissed or derailed the careers of so many senior military officers (Photo: Kevin Dietsch/Getty)
Donald Trump
The US President promoted the AfD’s win on social media with a screenshot of the projected election result.
Worry in Europe
However, the result in Saxony-Anhalt was met with trepidation by many European leaders.
It comes after research in June found almost one in four voters in Europe now support far-right parties, with the rate growing nearly fivefold since the mid-1990s.
Explained
4 min read
The carmaker has announced it will extend its pause in production until October 1 as it recovers from a cyber attack (Photo: Dave Thompson/PA Wire)
news
‘No bailout’ for Jaguar Land Rover amid job cut reports
The Government is facing calls to “mitigate” thousands of job losses, but “challenging” business conditions mean manufacturers will continue to struggle.
JLR to cut as many as 4,000 jobs
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will meet with the leadership team of Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) this week after it emerged that Britain’s largest car manufacturer is set to lay off 4,000 workers.
Jaguar Land Rover is set to invest heavily in electric vehicles (Photo: Nick Dimbleby/Jaguar Land Rover)
The UK car industry is concerned about the impact of tariffs (Photo: AFP via Getty Images)
The cuts are largely expected to impact office roles, with the majority of job losses affecting its UK operations, where around 34,000 staff in total are based (compared to just under 10,000 overseas employees).
Aiming to save £1.7bn
The company reportedly informed employees and their union about the cuts on Saturday, ahead of Monday’s formal announcement.
Job losses will be spread over the coming two years, JLR said, as part of efforts to save about £1.7bn.
There will be a voluntary redundancy programme for salaried and management teams.
2 min read
The Government’s response
We understand that this will be an uncertain and concerning time for affected workers, their families and wider communities.
Reynolds said he will aim to “mitigate any job losses” in meetings with JLR leadership. However, when asked by the BBC on Sunday whether there could be financial support to protect jobs, the Business Secretary replied: “Not if it’s to bail people out.”
Newly appointed Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds leaving No 10 Downing Street (Photo: PA)
Hundreds protest Portsmouth ‘mega-dinghy’ – what we know
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in Portsmouth after migrants from a “mega-dinghy” were brought ashore by lifeboats.
Here’s what we know.
Caption: Discarded life jackets at Eastney Point, near Eastney Beach, Portsmouth, following a protest last night after people thought to be migrants were brought into the harbour. Picture date: Monday September 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Sene/PA Wire
Photographer: PA
Provider: Joe Sene/PA Wire
Source: PA
What happened?
Caption: Police officers at the scene near Eastney Beach, Portsmouth, where hundreds of protesters have gathered, after a small boat thought to be containing asylum seekers and heading towards the coast sparked a major response with a helicopter, aeroplane and lifeboats sent to the scene. Picture date: Sunday September 6, 2026. PA Photo. The boat’s occupants have been brought to shore in the maritime city, where it is understood they will be processed as is routine for small boats. Photo credit should read: Jamie Lashmar/PA Wire
Photographer: Jamie Lashmar
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Source: PA
Protesters gather
Hundreds gathered in Portsmouth on Sunday night to protest the arrival of migrants from a small boat.
What sparked it?
Around 140 migrants were brought to shore in Hampshire after travelling to the UK on a single “mega-dinghy”.
Caption: Police officers pass a pile of discarded life jackets at Eastney Point, near Eastney Beach, Portsmouth, following a protest last night after people thought to be migrants were brought into the harbour. Picture date: Monday September 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Sene/PA Wire
Photographer: PA
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Source: PA
Caption: Police officers at Eastney Point, near Eastney Beach, Portsmouth, following a protest last night after people thought to be migrants were brought into the harbour. Picture date: Monday September 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Sene/PA Wire
Photographer: PA
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Source: PA
What did they do?
Crowds tried to stop the migrants being taken to an asylum processing centre in Kent.
Investigation launched
About 200 demonstrators who gathered were dispersed around 4am on Monday, police said.
A handful of police offers were treated for injuries at the scene, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said.
Several police, coastguard and border force vehicles were also damaged.
An investigation to identify offenders responsible for any officer assaults, criminal damage or other criminal offences has been launched.
‘Closest I’ve been to an insurrection’
Portsmouth resident Sue Dewey, who watched the scenes unfold from her balcony, said: “It was a very surreal night, that was the closest I’ve ever been to an insurrection.”
Caption: Screen grab taken from video dated 06/09/26 of police speaking to protesters in the water at Eastney near Portsmouth, after the operation to rescue around 140 migrants who were brought into the harbour at Portsmouth in Hampshire. Masked demonstrators blocked the road leading away from the RNLI Portsmouth Lifeboat Station at Eastney Marina. Issue date: Monday September 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Barry Williams/PA Wire
NOTE TO EDITORS: This handout photo may only be used for editorial reporting purposes for the contemporaneous illustration of events, things or the people in the image or facts mentioned in the caption. Reuse of the picture may require further permission from the copyright holder.
Photographer: Barry Williams
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Source: PA
Caption: A damaged police car with a smashed windscreen at Eastney Point, near Eastney Beach in Portsmouth, following a protest last night after people thought to be migrants were brought into the harbour. Picture date: Monday September 7, 2026. PA Photo. Photo credit should read: Joe Sene/PA Wire
Photographer: Joe Sene
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Source: PA
Asked if she is worried similar incidents will happen again, she replied: “Yes, we are worried it’s going to happen again… the ferry had to be stopped, lots of things had to be stopped because of it yesterday.
Watch: Protesters clash with police
Hundreds of protesters clashed with police in Portsmouth overnight in the second small boats demonstration of the weekend. Crowds, many with their faces covered and in balaclavas, chanted “stop the boats” as they blocked roads attempting stop a coach of migrants being taken to the Manston asylum processing centre in Kent. It came after 140 migrants were brought to shore in Hampshire after travelling to the UK on a single “mega-dinghy”.
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Who is behind the protests?
Some of the demonstrators at Portsmouth were dressed in all black and wore face masks, similar to those who joined an anti-migrant protest which blocked the Port of Dover on Saturday.
Daniel Thomas, a former bodyguard for far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who has claimed credit for the Dover protest, live-streamed himself at the Portsmouth protest.
Explained
4 min read
Explained
4 min read
‘Thuggish’ behaviour
Treasury Chief Secretary Emma Reynolds called the protestors’ behaviour in Portsmouth and Dover “thuggish and intimidating”.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said: “This is a serious situation, it’s about to get significantly worse.
He added: “The government needs to act, I suspect it won’t. But remember, peaceful protests good, uniforms and masks bad.”
Big Read
3 min read
‘Significant issue’ to come?
In the wake of the protests, police warned that ministers will have a “significant issue” if people traffickers shift their routes further west of Dover.
Places like Portsmouth along the hundreds of miles of England’s south coast are “not set up” for the arrival of migrants, Hampshire and Isle of Wight police and crime commissioner Donna Jones said.
“My concern, as a police and crime commissioner, is that we don’t have this repeated,” she added.
news – politics
Why Reform are fighting to replace Farage
The political “mood board” at the Reform UK conference over the weekend ranged from gloomiest black to the teal-suited larkiness of Nigel Farage. Yet the UK’s biggest political figure laced his gutsy “I will survive” message with a bleaker one about his family wishing he would quit frontline politics.
What challenges is Farage facing?
Farage delivers his keynote speech (Photo: AFP)
£5m gift
The Reform leader has faced heavy scrutiny for an undisclosed £5m “personal gift” he received in 2024.
George Cottrell
Farage’s senior adviser, George Cottrell, is a convicted felon.
Nigel Farage, accompanied by George Cottrell (right), drinks a beer on the sidelines of a European Parliament plenary session in Brussels on January 29, 2020. (Photo by John Thys/AFP via Getty Images)
Caption: (FILES) Reform UK party leader Nigel Farage (C), talks with Dan Jukes (centre L), as he visits the area where two men were stabbed the day before, in the Golders Green neighbourhood of north London, on April 30, 2026. Two senior officials resigned from Nigel Farage’s hard-right Reform UK on September 4, 2026, as the scandal-hit party was reported to the police over fresh allegations it flouted donations rules. Farage’s long-term aide Dan Jukes and Reform’s head of policy James Orr stepped down, the party said, adding that it had launched a probe into the allegations revealed in an undercover investigation by Channel 4 News. (Photo by CARLOS JASSO / AFP via Getty Images)
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Channel 4 broadcast
Now, the party is under the lens again after a documentary appeared to show Reform officials discussing donations from foreign financiers.
Watch: Fallout from Channel 4 sting
Two of Nigel Farage’s closest advisers have stepped down pending investigation after an undercover report alleged they had breached political donation rules, plunging the party’s annual conference into chaos. Channel 4 News and Verbatim, a group of investigative journalists, published footage alleging that Farage had welcomed foreign donations, leading to claims the party had breached UK funding rules. The i Paper’s political correspondent Connie Dimsdale explains everything you need to know. #News #UKPolitics #Reform #NigelFarage
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Challenges within Reform
1Family – Farage says his family “begged” him to quit politics following the murder of Reform member Ann Widdecombe.
2Lack of professionalism – Farage spoke of Reform’s lack of professionalism after the Channel 4 News sting and admitted he “wasn’t listening” carefully.
3Party infighting – Reform’s home affairs spokesman, Zia Yusuf, is frequently at odds with treasury spokesperson Robert Jenrick on issues like the details of how migrant deportations would work.
Reform’s future
The most likely outcome is that Farage, still the stardust of Reform, however tainted by the slew of funding scandals, will be the candidate at the next election in a do-or-die moment.
Even so, senior Reform figures can, however, calculate odds – and whether it is Tice, whose friends describe him as “always on standby” if a new leader is needed, Jenrick, whose old Tory frenemies joke he wakes up every day with the mantra “I will become leader…” or Yusuf, the man whose diehard views could pave the way to a rapprochement with Restore Britain, this party is in search mode for what follows the Nigel era.
Nigel Farage gestures during an interview with TV host Jeremy Kyle at Reform UK’s annual party conference (Photo: Reuters/Isabel Infantes)
Go deeper on this topic
Farage rivals begin to circle after Reform’s nightmare week
For now, Farage, who was given a hero’s welcome by activists at this year’s annual conference, remains firmly in control. But the man long viewed as politically untouchable is looking more vulnerable as the vultures begin to circle.
Watch more from The i Paper
The huge naval base is just five miles along the road from Helensburgh, a town containing around 15,000 people, including military families and retired personnel. Anti-nuclear campaigners argue that Faslane makes this part of Scotland – just 25 miles from Glasgow – a target for attacks.
However, the majority of people in Helensburgh who spoke to The i Paper are supportive of the need for the nuclear naval base. There is enthusiasm about £15bn worth of planned upgrades to Faslane over the next 10 years, with the hope that the town can get a knock-on economic boost.
‘I assume the military’s on top of anything suspicious’
When it comes to the heightened threat from Russia, feelings among local people range from calm to defiant to uneasy.
Billy McBain, 58-year-old Helensburgh resident, worked at Faslane for many years and retired as a Royal Navy engineer in 2013. “It is worrying, the increase threat from Russia,” he said. “But there’s only a minute chance of attack against us. The whole point of the nuclear deterrent is that it keeps the whole country safe.”
Billy McBain, a former Navy engineer, enjoyed his years at Faslane and believes an attack by Russia is unlikely (Photo: Robert Perry)
“I enjoyed my years there,” McBain said of Faslane. “The expansion is good [for Helensburgh] – it would be a bit of ghost town if it wasn’t for the base.”
Sharon Harvey, a 67-year-old Helensburgh resident, said: “The stability of the leaders we have now, Putin and Trump, is worrying I suppose. But I don’t think about [Trident] as a big threat. It has to go somewhere – so I’m happy for it to be here.”
Sharon Harvey says she is aware of people taking photos when walking her dog on the seafront (Photo: The i Paper)
“When I walk the dog along the seafront, you’re aware of visitors that are talking lots of photos. I sometimes joke with friends, ‘Do you think the military are aware of this?’ I just assume they’re on top of anything really suspicious.”
Faslane ‘absolutely not off limits’ to Russia
Vladimir Putin’s veiled threat against the UK has heightened concerns that Russia could target British factories creating drones for Ukraine. The possibility that Moscow might disrupt sites in Britain is a “military secret”, the Russian leader has said.
Lord West, the former First Sea Lord, said drone facilities were currently “more at risk” of cyber attacks, sabotage and espionage than major military bases such as Faslane.
“But we have to be wary of grey-zone hybrid activity,” the former Navy chief told The i Paper. “Russia is always prodding and probing, and Faslane is one of the key places they might want to prod and probe at. If Putin thinks he could get away with some sabotage there, I’m sure he love to do that.”
HMS Vigilant, one of the UK’s nuclear warhead-carrying submarines, at Faslane (Photo: Danny Lawson/PA)
Ed Arnold, defence expert and senior associate fellow at Royal United Services Institute, said: “The key military sites [such as Faslane] are absolutely not off limits. The Russians would be interested in any way they can to prevent the site from operating as it should.
“If there’s a higher risk for sabotage or espionage, there’s an argument that people in Helensburgh need to be quite vigilant or suspicious of odd behaviour.”
The number of security incidents at Faslane rose from 16 in 2021 to 149 last year, according to Freedom of Information data obtained by LBC earlier in 2026.
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has not revealed details. Security incidents can include lost ID and other documentation issues, The i Paper understands.
Philip Ingram, a former senior British military intelligence officer, said he hoped the increase was a “reflection of the heightened state of alert” as more security checks are done.
“If tensions increased substantially, if it came to a Russian operation against Nato forces, Faslane would be one of the number-one targets,” he said. “We have to be wary of cyber attacks, sabotage and good old-fashioned espionage and spies that could compromise people working at Faslane.”
Ingram urged people in Helensburgh to be “wary”, adding: “If there’s new people behaving suspiciously, they should report it. The threat is very real.”
Faslane would “likely be on a high-priority target list” in the event of a conflict between Russia and Nato, according to a report from the Nato-accredited think-tank, the Combined Joint Operations from the Sea Centre of Excellence.
‘Terrifying to think nuclear subs are there’
Mark Stewart, a 57-year-old anti-war campaigner who lives opposite Faslane’s security gates, thinks about the nuclear threat every day.
He is one of a handful of activists who have been living at Faslane Peace Camp, a collection of caravans and shacks across the road from the base which have been occupied since 1982.
The former engineer from Newcastle came about a year ago to help revive the camp after numbers dwindled. “I’d had enough of the system,” he said. “It’s a strange part of the world – like heaven and hell. It’s beautiful, but it’s also terrifying to think nuclear submarines are there.
“All the Russia talk makes things feels scarier than it has for a while. It makes Faslane more of a risk than ever.”
Mark Stewart and Siobhan Donald at the Faslane Peace camp near Helensburgh (Photo: Robert Perry)
Siobhan Donald, 25, moved to the camp about six months ago. “I don’t like the nukes being there at all,” she said. “I don’t think they should be in Scotland – it makes us a target. But I don’t want them anywhere. The Russia stuff is frightening, that the two sides are creating this heightened threat.”
Nuclear base ‘adds a bit of excitement’
Some Helensburgh residents are relaxed about the apparent rise in tensions. Cathy, a retiree in her early sixties, is not worried about Moscow-directed dirty tricks. “You’d have to be a pretty stupid Russian spy to come here to try to break into Faslane,” she said.
She moved to the area with her husband about six years ago. “It didn’t put us off. It’s a beautiful part of the world, and it’s interesting to be close to the submarines. It adds a bit of excitement. I’ve always thought that if Russia was to bomb us, we’d all be gone in an instant, we’d all be doomed anyway. So, I don’t worry about it.”
The SNP has said it would seek to negotiate for the removal of Trident from Faslane in an independent Scotland, while still supporting Nato’s mission.
SNP councillor Math Campbell- Sturgess says Faslane naval base remains ’very much part and parcel of the community’ (Photo: Robert Perry)
Math Campbell-Sturgess, SNP councillor for Helensburgh and Lomond South, said that the Faslane naval base remained “very much part and parcel of the community”, and councillors want local businesses “to get as much of an economic boost as possible” from the coming modernisation of the base.
“Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, people are concerned – you can’t not be,” he added. “But no more concerned than anywhere else. People are so accustomed to the stand-off since the Cold War, so they’re not alarmed by everything Putin says.”
Alex Gallacher, 68, who retired to Helensburgh a couple of years ago, is not alarmed at all: “I’m very cynical about all this Russia threat stuff. There’s a lot of sabre-rattling going on, but not much substance to any of it. It’s bullshit. I’m more worried about the cost of living, about homelessness, about poverty.”
An MoD spokesperson said the security of Faslane “is of the utmost importance and security measures are continually reviewed. Due to the sensitive nature of the site we do not comment on specific measures or incidents.”