A LEADING left-wing think tank has called on the Scottish government to set up a defence diversification agency to plan and resource the scrapping of Trident while protecting workers’ jobs.

The Jimmy Reid Foundation will launch its report, which examines the effect renewing Trident will have on jobs and the economy, tomorrow.

Report author Professor Mike Danson said: “Renewing Trident makes neither economic nor social sense.

“It is also an affront to democracy and humanity and makes the world no more safe than it currently is.”

The report found that only 600 civilian jobs depend on the existing Trident system at Faslane and Coulport, and that the other 3,721 jobs at HMNB Clyde are linked to other submarines and surface ships and would not be at risk.

The Trident successor programme will not lead to any new jobs but merely maintain 11,520 across Britain at a cost of £205 billion — almost £18m per job.

This is wasteful of skills that could be used elsewhere in the economy, and expenditure on Trident and its successor programme is costing jobs as defence budgets are cut to fund Trident, the foundation argues.

The report makes the case that Trident is not an investment in manufacturing but instead benefits banks, multinational companies and arms suppliers.

Moreover, austerity has led to more than 30,000 job losses in local government in Scotland so far. Even a small amount of the money spent on Trident could easily reverse these cuts.

Foundation director Professor Gregor Gall said: “We look forward to politicians and political parties taking up its findings and promoting them in order to do all that can be done to stop the renewal of Trident.”