THANKS TO SCOTTISH WHISTLEBLOWER, BRITAINS PARLIAMENT WILL NOW DEBATE THE SAFETY OF THE TRIDENT SUBMARINE PROGRAM

The Scottish National Party, irate at the arrest and imprisonment of one of its native sons, has forced a debate in Westminster to discuss the growing crisis in the Trident program.

Able seaman William McNeilly, 25, was forced to go on the run last week after producing an 18-page report containing a series of allegations about the Trident submarines based at Faslane on the Clyde.
His report alleged 30 safety and security flaws on the submarines, describing them as a "disaster waiting to happen".

He was later apprehended at Edinburgh Airport and is now in military police custody.

The Royal Navy has said it disagrees with Mr McNeilly's "subjective and unsubstantiated" views and said it takes the operation of its submarines and the safety of its personnel extremely seriously.
At Holyrood, Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon insisted that a "top-level" inquiry into the allegations should take place without delay.

Speaking ahead of the House of Commons debate, former SNP leader Alex Salmond, the party's foreign affairs spokesman, said: "This is the SNP in action - standing up for Scotland - in the first week of Parliament.

"The SNP will continue to keep the pressure on the Government until we are satisfied that not only have they have investigated Mr McNeilly's claims thoroughly and have acted on the findings, but that those findings are put into the public domain.

"Trident is a key issue for people in Scotland. It is bad enough that Scotland is forced to house these weapons of mass destruction but these alleged breaches of security are deeply worrying - there must be absolutely no complacency."

This is the clearest reason yet why everyone, including those of us in Canada, must accept the duty and responsibility of being whistleblowers whenever the opportunity arises. If We The People are harmed for this, we can punish the harmers at a later date. But we must fulfill our roles as citizen electors and share what we know with each other.