Alex Salmond targets 2016 Trident withdrawal date

Alex Salmond has suggested a final deal on removing Trident nuclear submarines from an independent Scotland would be delayed until 2016, as he urged his party to seize the hour and win next year's referendum.

The first minister appeared to soften his stance on the immediate future of the Trident fleet, one of the most contentious issues in the independence debate, by suggesting its fate was conditional on the Scottish National party retaining power after independence was formally declared.

The SNP wants to officially declare independence in March 2016 after a deal with the rest of the UK on a new sterling currency union, splitting up the UK's debt and taking control of North Sea oil fields, followed by the first election to an independent Scottish parliament in May 2016.

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