Senior figures such as Admiral of the Fleet Lord Boyce, Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Stirrup, Admiral Lord West and former NATO secretary-general Lord Robertson said the UK nuclear deterrent “must not be held hostage to behind-the-scenes scheming and bargaining”. 

The UK deterrent must not be held hostage to scheming and bargaining in the event of any hung Parliament

Defence chiefs

In a letter to The Times they said: “To see the nation’s future security set aside in some squalid majority building game would be an act of profound recklessness.

“We urge all party leaders to make it clear that the will of Parliament and the safety of our people will take precedence in any election outcome.”

MPs voted to keep Trident with a decisive majority of 355 in 2016 but SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear she would only prop up a minority Labour government if Mr Corbyn agreed to scrap the deterrent.

The Labour manifesto includes a pledge to renew Trident but Mr Corbyn has refused to rule out scrapping the deterrent in any deal with the SNP.

Ms Sturgeon said she was “absolutely firm” that getting rid of nuclear weapons would be a red line issue for her.

She told Sky News: “Unlike Jo Swinson, I would not be prepared to press a nuclear button that would kill millions of people.

“But there is also the opportunity cost. The tens of billions that are required to renew Trident are better spent on stronger conventional defence, but also on hospitals, and schools, and better social security provisions.

“If the SNP are in that position of influence, those are the policies we will pursue.”

In their letter to The Times, the defence chiefs said: “Anyone in the Labour Party contemplating surrendering to this threat should be reminded that only three years ago the UK parliament voted to maintain the deployment of the Trident system for as long as the global security situation demanded.

“For that overwhelming vote to be overturned in some back-room bartering after the election would be a betrayal of Britain’s national interest and a subversion of parliament.

“The UK deterrent, committed as it is to Nato, must not be held hostage to behind-the-scenes scheming and bargaining in the event of any hung parliament.”

Union leaders have warned scrapping the Trident system, which is based at the Faslane nuclear base in Scotland, would lead to the loss of more than 11,000 jobs.

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The GMB has described Ms Sturgeon’s position as a “campaign for mass unemployment” with around 6,800 service and civilian staff employed at Faslane and a further 5,000 extra jobs linked to the base.

Gary Mulvaney, Scottish Tory candidate for Argyll and Bute, said Ms Sturgeon wanted to “destroy the 11,000 jobs on the Clyde that depend directly or indirectly on our nuclear deterrent”.

He said: “Trident is good for Britain’s security, and good for Scottish jobs.

“Jeremy Corbyn has already made clear he will concede another independence referendum if he comes Prime Minister.

“Everyone should now know that a vote for Labour at this election is a vote to help Nicola Sturgeon get her way.”

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