The Scottish National Party has demanded an urgent parliamentary inquiry into the security of Britain’s Trident nuclear deterrent, citing what it calls a “scandal” involving a Scottish Labour MP and her alleged conduct with senior Royal Navy officers at the Faslane base.
SNP MP Kirsty Blackman called on Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to investigate whether the UK’s nuclear fleet had been undermined by the conduct of Joani Reid, who stepped down from Labour last month. Ms Reid’s husband, David Taylor, was arrested on 4 March by counter-terrorism officers on suspicion of assisting a foreign intelligence service, specifically in relation to China, and released on bail.
The Allegations: Two Officers and a Parliamentary Scheme
The call follows reports alleging inappropriate behaviour by Ms Reid involving two naval officers at HM Naval Base Clyde, the home of the UK’s submarine-based nuclear weapons. The Ministry of Defence has stated it has no security concerns over the alleged incidents.
One of the officers investigated was a captain in command of a nuclear-armed submarine at Faslane. According to sources, the Royal Navy investigated the officer last year following allegations of an inappropriate relationship with Ms Reid, which reportedly included the exchange of “flirtatious” messages. The investigation was understood to be a “due diligence” measure to assess any potential vulnerability to blackmail. The officer was not found to have broken any military rules. He has since stepped back from his command for personal reasons unrelated to the investigation but remains in the Navy.
A separate alleged incident involves a different senior naval officer and led to Ms Reid’s departure from the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme (AFPS) last year. It is reported that during a visit to Faslane, witnesses described the MP as being “extremely drunk” and behaving “inappropriately”, including during time spent in the officers’ mess. The incident was reported to parliamentary authorities by a fellow MP over fears that sensitive information about Britain’s nuclear capabilities could be compromised. Ms Reid’s departure from the AFPS was reportedly voluntary.
Sources close to the MP have suggested the report against her was “opportunistic hypocrisy”, noting that male MPs also drank heavily during the visit. Ms Reid has stated she is not under police investigation and has faced no accusations in connection with her husband’s case, saying: “I have done nothing wrong.”
Political Reactions: Security Fears and Accusations of Hypocrisy
Kirsty Blackman, the SNP MP for Aberdeen North, framed the allegations as a grave national security breach. “Joani Reid’s behaviour compromised the UK’s nuclear fleet and our national security – her conduct must be investigated at the proper level which is the highest level,” she said.
Ms Blackman claimed the MP’s actions had “potentially compromised 50% of the UK nuclear fleet” and directly called on Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar and UK Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to “act swiftly on one of their own and instruct the committee to begin their work.”
The reaction from other parties, however, quickly turned to the SNP’s longstanding policy on Trident. Scottish Conservative MP Harriet Cross said Ms Reid had “serious questions to answer” but added: “If the SNP really cared about keeping our nation safe, they wouldn’t be pushing to scrap Trident.”
A UK Government source dismissed the security concerns outright, stating: “This is total and utter nonsense. The security of our nuclear deterrent is unaffected. The real threat to the future of our deterrent is an SNP government in Scotland.”
Liberal Democrat Scottish affairs spokesperson Susan Murray MP said the allegations “go to the heart of UK national security” but also accused the SNP of hypocrisy, noting: “Under their plans, Trident wouldn’t just be undermined; it would be scrapped.”
The Royal Navy reiterated its standard position, with a spokesperson saying: “The security of the nuclear deterrent is our highest priority, and we have robust processes in place to protect the security of our people and capabilities. We will not comment on individual cases.”
Questions around the MP’s connections have extended to financial support. It emerged that in February 2026, the month before her husband’s arrest, Ms Reid received a donation of £2,400 for media training from Earthcott Ltd, Mr Taylor’s lobbying and consultancy firm. Mr Taylor, a former special adviser to ex-Welsh Secretary Peter Hain, is a director of Earthcott and holds a senior role at the Asia House think tank.
The Faslane base, which employs over 6,500 people, has been the focus of security discussions before. In March this year, two individuals, one understood to be Iranian, were arrested attempting to enter the base, though the MoD did not consider the incident particularly serious. A 2016 report also warned that an overstretched Ministry of Defence Police force posed a threat, citing a near-doubling of unauthorised entries to military bases.
