SCOTTISH First Minister John Swinney’s backing for Nato and higher defence spending even as he renews his party’s opposition to nuclear bombs has been slammed as “confused and confusing” by peace campaigners.

Mr Swinney, who campaigned for Scottish independence under the “Bairns not Bombs” banner, was fulsome in his support for Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s plans to “reshape the economy” by boosting arms spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP, but took issue with its funding model.

He branded Labour plans to cut international aid spending the “wrong choice,” but said: “I do think it’s necessary to take seriously the threat of security, which therefore leads to the conclusion that we need to spend more on defence.”

Mr Swinney, whose SNP party backs an independent Scotland joining Nato and its first-strike nuclear alliance, added: “There are obviously choices to be made, the United Kingdom is spending billions of pounds every year servicing the Trident nuclear missile system.

“As a party, as a government, as an individual, I wouldn’t support the possession of nuclear weapons.

“There’s obviously resources that could have been spent alternatively on defence than on Trident missiles, which are not stopping conflict in the world today and they’re not able to be deployed in the current challenges we face.”

Despite reiterating his opposition to nuclear weapons, he appeared to blame Ukraine’s 1994 decision to give up a stockpile on its territory, inherited from the Soviet Union, to Russia as a factor in why it was invaded.

“Ukraine gave up its nuclear weapons — it’s not had all the security guarantees that I think are necessary in the world today,” he said.

“To me, that’s the answer to the point — it’s to have the necessary security guarantees that will protect a country like Ukraine.”

Branding the SNP leader’s position “confused and confusing,” Stop the War Scotland student officer Coll McCail told the Star: “We’ve come a long way from ‘Bairns not Bombs.’

“On Tuesday the SNP backed a hike in defence spending at Westminster.

“On Wednesday, they voted against ending state subsidy to the arms industry at Holyrood.

“Today, John Swinney appears to suggest nuclear weapons, in some form, are necessary for global security.”

Mr McCail said 2025 is the ninth year of record global military spending, adding: “A brief look around the world today makes crystal clear that a renewed arms race is the last thing we need.