SWINNEY HITS OUT AT GLARING WEAKNESSES IN MARITIME DEFENCES AROUND SCOTLAND Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, has insisted that there must be a strong presence in the country’s waters. He accused Whitehall of having ‘chosen not to base a single offshore patrol vessel, frigate or destroyer in Scotland’. He pointed out that in November the Russian spy ship Yantar had been operating in waters north of Scotland. This required ships to be sent from the south coast of England. He referred in particular to the absence of deployment of surveillance vessels ‘which will protect us’. He also said…
