An independent Scotland would be a “soft underbelly”, providing a haven for terrorists and organised criminals wanting to target Britain, the UK’s leading security think-tank warned today.
The Royal United Services Institute said Alex Salmond’s plan to replace the protection given by MI5, MI6 and GCHQ with a new Scottish Security and Intelligence Agency raised serious concerns and would leave the nation with “considerable blind spots”.
It said national security would be “compromised” as a result and Scottish failure to establish a “credible” intelligence agency would give hostile agents and criminals a route into the UK.
The new warning will add to the debate about the impact of a Scottish breakaway if voters north of the border back the “yes” campaign in September’s referendum on independence.
It follows a claim last year by Home Secretary Theresa May that Edinburgh will find it “very difficult” to protect its citizens against terrorism if Scotland splits from the rest of the UK.
Mr Salmond, Scotland’s First Minister, has hit back by publishing plans for a new Scottish Security and Intelligence Agency which he claims will provide effective security.
But in a new report the Royal United Services Institute highlights significant weaknesses in the proposals, including Scotland’s potential loss of access to the “Five Eyes” intelligence sharing deal Britain has with the US, Australia, Canada and New Zealand.
Professor Michael Clarke, the think-tank’s director general, said: “At the moment, Scotland is not a haven for terrorism. It’s a relatively benign environment. But an independent Scotland that fails to set up an effective intelligence agency will be a very attractive niche for terrorists and organised crime. It will be a soft underbelly.
“Our analysis is that Scotland could not create a meaningful intelligence agency that was credible with other agencies, at least for some time, and while Scotland was failing to do that, the security of the rest of the British isles would be compromised.”
The Standard debate on Scottish independence, chaired by Emily Maitliss, is at 6.30pm on Monday, June 30 at Guildhall, Gresham Street, EC2. Free admission but strictly ticket-only. Apply at standard.co.uk/scotland
