ANAS Sarwar has defended Labour’s Trident “triple lock” – saying the party’s defence policy was “not up for negotiation”.

Keir Starmer on Monday sparked fierce criticism from the SNP as he said Labour’s commitment to Trident was “absolute” and insisted he would press the nuclear button.

This was questioned by First Minister John Swinney, who said “nobody’s going to use” nuclear weapons.

Asked about the Labour leader’s comments, Sarwar said: “The world is a much more unsafe place than it was even a few years ago, never mind a decade or two decades ago, that’s why our commitment to Nato is resolute, our commitment to national security is resolute and not up for negotiation.

“The first duty of any government is to protect its citizens and we will not flounder upon the issue of national security.”

The “triple lock” on nuclear weapons has seen Labour pledge to continue the ongoing construction of four nuclear submarines, maintain 27/7 nuclear patrols and to upgrade the nuclear fleet in future as needed.

Swinney said the UK Government should instead focus on investing in the conventional military, which has been depleted in recent years.

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The British Army is at its lowest numbers since the Napoleonic Wars, with just 73,000 troops.

Asked about Labour’s Trident pledge, Swinney told LBC the party’s priorities were “wrong”.

He said: “The country faces acute threats, it’s probably the most difficult and worrying and anxious set of circumstances that we’ve faced in decades, with the threat from [Russian president Vladimir] Putin and the implications of the invasion of Ukraine.

“So what we need is effective and strong conventional defence forces that will provide protection for this country, for its people, for its land.

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“We can’t have that at the same time as investing in a nuclear deterrent that nobody’s going to use.”

He called on Labour to be “straight with the public that there is no moral or economic or fiscal argument for nuclear deterrence” and instead called for investment in “conventional defence forces”.

Asked whether he believed getting rid of nuclear weapons would make Britain vulnerable to attacks, Swinney said: “There’s only a small minority of countries have nuclear deterrents and I don’t think the UK can afford a nuclear deterrent, I don’t think there’s a moral argument for it either.”

He added: “But what there is an argument for and what there’s a necessity for is investment in our conventional defence forces because by all independent analysis, they’re not adequate despite their best efforts for what we actually require just now given the threats from Putin and other situations.

“I think a bit of straight-talking is necessary in this election, whereby the Labour Party concedes there is no case nuclear deterrence but what there is a case for is investment in the conventional defence forces upon which we all rely for our security.”

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Greens MSP Ross Greer said nuclear weapons were a “moral evil and an obscene and immoral waste of hundreds of billions of pounds”.

He added: “The so-called ‘triple-lock’ that Labour is proposing is a multi-billion bung to a weapons industry already enjoying eye-watering profits from the UK’s aggressive foreign policy.

“The message from Sir Keir Starmer is very simple. If you care about peace and global security, don’t vote Labour.”

Alba candidate Chris McEleny said: “Keir Starmer has made it clear that a vote for Labour is a vote to have the best defended food banks in the world.

“Instead of scrapping the bedroom tax, ending the Tory two-child benefit cap or eradicating child poverty, Keir Starmer wants to spend over £200 billion a year on weapons of mass destruction.”