THE SNP and Greens have welcomed UK Government plans to move Trident out of an independent Scotland.

Under the proposals, leaked last night, ministers in London are considering relocating the nuclear submarines and missiles to France or the US or leasing out from the new Scottish state the Faslane Royal Navy base on the Clyde, where they are currently located, to keep them.

Responding to the plans, obtained by the Financial Times, the SNP's defence spokesman Stewart McDonald supported moving Trident out of an independent Scotland but opposed any long-term plan for the UK Government to lease out Faslane.

READ MORE: UK Government's 'secret' plans for Trident after independence revealed

He wrote on Twitter: "A sense of realism descends on Whitehall: MoD planning for the removal of Trident is sensible & I welcome the fact that this is now in the public domain. The option of long-term leasing referred to in the article is a non-starter for many obvious reasons."

He later added in a statement that an "independent Scotland will not be home to nuclear weapons".

He said: "With a clear cross-party majority of Scotland’s elected politicians opposed to Trident, there is no possible parliamentary arithmetic that would allow these weapons to be kept at Faslane.

“Negotiating their removal will be one of the most important tasks a newly independent Scotland will face, and capitals across Europe will be looking to Edinburgh for assurance that we will be a reliable and trustworthy partner. 

“Safety and security will be the top principle that informs the process of the departure - which will happen at pace.

“A clear majority of Scotland’s elected parliamentarians, both at Holyrood and Westminster, are opposed to Trident, as are large sections of society across Scotland, including many faith groups. 

“Independence is needed to ensure that that groundswell of democratic and civic opinion is translated into the action which will see the safe removal of all nuclear weapons from Scotland.”

Ross Greer, the Scottish Greens MSP for the west of Scotland, said the Faslane naval base must not be turned "into a nuclear armed Gunatanamo Bay style British enclave".

“It’s clear that Scottish independence would undermine the British government’s superpower delusions and contribute to world peace. A newly independent Scotland must demand that the UK’s weapons of mass slaughter are moved from the Clyde," he said.

"They should be decommissioned, and we should not for a second entertain the suggestion of allowing a nuclear armed Guantanamo Bay style complex to remain behind. The base at Faslane will play an important role in supporting Scotland’s own defence forces, something it could not do if the facility is handed back to the government of a country we have just left."

He added: “The shared policy programme agreed by the Scottish Greens and Scottish Government commits us to support the aims and principles of the nuclear weapons ban treaty. I look forward to the day where an independent Scotland can join the 86 other countries who have already signed this treaty.”

The Royal Navy's base at Faslane on the west coast of Scotland is home to the UK's nuclear submarines, but "senior officials" told the Financial Times they could be moved to naval bases in the US or France if Scotland votes Yes in a second referendum on independence.

The newspaper also reports that the Ministry of Defence (MoD) could keep them within an independent Scotland by creating a new British Overseas Territory.

However, a spokesman for the MoD denied there are any plans to move the submarines.

The Scottish Government said it is committed to the "safe and complete withdrawal of Trident from Scotland".

An MoD spokesman said: "The UK is strongly committed to maintaining its credible and independent nuclear deterrent at HM Naval Base Clyde, which exists to deter the most extreme threats to the UK and our Nato allies.

"There are no plans to move the nuclear deterrent from HM Naval Base Clyde (Faslane), which contributes to Scotland's and the wider UK's security and economy, and its supporting facilities are safe for local communities."

The Financial Times cited "several senior officials" who have been briefed on plans for what would happen to the nuclear deterrent if Scotland becomes independent.

According to the newspaper, the preferred option would be to move the nuclear deterrent to the Royal Navy base at Devonport in Plymouth.

Allied naval bases in the US and France are also reportedly being considered for the fleet.

Another option said to be under consideration is to negotiate a new British Overseas Territory described as a "Nuclear Gibraltar" within Scotland, with the UK Government leasing Faslane and nearby Coulport from the independent Scottish government.

The Royal Naval Armaments Depot at Coulport is responsible for storing, processing, maintaining and issuing key elements of the UK's Trident nuclear missile system.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "The Scottish Government firmly oppose the possession, threat and use of nuclear weapons and we are committed to the safe and complete withdrawal of Trident from Scotland."

Nicola Sturgeon's Scottish government was re-elected in May, with the First Minister promising a second referendum on independence.

The SNP agreed a powersharing deal with the Scottish Green Party in August, which has put the Greens into government for the first time in the UK.

As a result of the deal, Sturgeon has insisted she has an "undeniable" mandate for indyref2, as the two parties together hold 72 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament.

The SNP has long opposed the UK's nuclear weapons, and has previously called for Trident missiles not to be renewed.