Church of Scotland Moderator to Visit Faslane Naval Base and Peace Camp

The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland the Right Reverend Alan McDonald is to visit the Faslane Naval Base and Peace Camp as part of a historic visit to the Presbytery of Dumbarton.

The visit follows the Long Walk for Peace to the Scottish Houses of Parliament which saw the Moderator join last month with the Archbishop of Glasgow, Dr Mario Conti, and hundreds of peace campaigners.

A longstanding campaigner against the UK's nuclear deterrent, Rev McDonald will spend an hour at the base on Tuesday morning where he will meet the Royal Navy's Flag Officer for Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland, Rear Admiral Philip Wilcocks DSC.

Rev McDonald will follow his visit to the HM Clyde Naval Base with a visit to the Peace Camp at Faslane where he will speak to activists and residents.

The Moderator said ahead of Tuesday's visit: "I am looking forward to my visit to the base, and to speaking with both the civilian staff and forces personnel based there.

"I think that most people are well aware of the Church of Scotland's stance in opposition to the Trident missile system, and to my own strong personal support of that position.

"This week's event will be very much a pastoral visit, focussing on the people who work at the base. After all, Faslane is the largest employer in the area and it is only right that I should include it in my programme while I am in the Presbytery of Dumbarton.

"Neither Admiral Wilcocks, nor anyone else at HM Naval Base Clyde, makes this country's defence policy. Responsibility for Trident, and the much-discussed multi billion pound Trident Replacement Project, rests squarely on the shoulders of the UK government."