MSP appointed to international anti-nuclear council

Bill Kidd has become the first Scottish parliamentarian to be appointed to the board of a prestigious international anti-nuclear body.

Mr Kidd, an SNP MSP, who represents voters in Glasgow, accepted membership to the Council of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (PNND).

Commenting on his appointment Mr Kidd said: "I am both delighted and honoured to be invited to become a Member of the PNND Council. I believe my appointment is recognition of the growing international status Scotland’s Parliament holds on this issue.”

The Council guides the activities and development of the PNND, a network dedicated to helping parliamentarians become engaged in nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament initiatives.

14 MSPs and 22 MPs are members of the organisation, largely those of the Labour Party and SNP. High-profile members include the Respect MP George Galloway, former International Development Secretary Clare Short, and the Conservative peer Jeffrey Archer.

Kidd formally took up his duties earlier this month, delivering a speech to the PNND Assembly in New York in which he argued “it is only through an independent nuclear-free Scotland that we can guarantee the ending of the UK nuclear capacity”.

Mr Kidd commented on the controversial nuclear submarine located on Scotland's West coast: "Trident is dangerous, unnecessary and expensive, and today's recession shows how it is a financial distraction when people want that money spent on frontline public services.”

Mr Kidd cited the fact that there is no other site in the country that the UK government can station its nuclear deterrent—a fleet of Trident Nuclear Submarines and their warheads—other than at Faslane Naval Base in Scotland.

John Ainslie, coordinator of the Scottish Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) said: “We welcome the involvement of Bill Kidd in this international network. President Obama has given new hope to the disarmament movement and there is widespread criticism of the plan to replace Britain’s Trident system. Through networks such as PNND, Scotland can play an important role at this vital time.”