Campaigners make Trident protest

Protesters called for the scrapping of the Trident weapons system

Hundreds of campaigners have marched through Edinburgh to protest about the Trident nuclear weapons system.

The march and rally was intended to put pressure on the UK Government to remove all nuclear weapons from Scottish soil.

Police said about 1,200 people took part in the event which was a follow-up to last month's Trident summit, organised by the Scottish Government.

The SNP-administration is against the renewal of Britain's nuclear deterrent, which is based at Faslane on the Clyde.

Scottish soil

The march and rally was organised by the Scotland's For Peace campaign, which includes religious, trade union and peace groups.

It began at the Scottish Parliament before heading to Princes Street Gardens.

Campaigners then attended a rally where SNP MSP Shirley-Anne Somerville read out a message of support from First Minister Alex Salmond.

It said: "The position of the Scottish Government is clear - we are opposed to the replacement of the Trident system and the deployment of weapons of mass destruction on Scottish soil."

Scotland now has a real opportunity to make a decisive contribution to disarmament by stopping the replacement of Trident Isobel Lindsay Scotland's for Peace

In her speech the Lothians MSP said: "We want Scotland to be a force for peace in the world, not a storage depot for weapons of mass destruction."

She added: "Trident is economically inept and morally repugnant.

"Its presence on our shore is an insult to democracy and an insult to all of us who believe peace is preserved by persuasion and diplomacy not threats and aggression."

Other politicians at the event included John Barrett, the Liberal Democrat MP for Edinburgh West and Patrick Harvie, a Green MSP for Glasgow.

Representatives of the Church of Scotland, the Catholic Church and the Muslim Association of Scotland also attended, along with Phil McGarry, the president of the Scottish Trades Union Congress.

Scotland's for Peace convener Isobel Lindsay said: "Scotland now has a real opportunity to make a decisive contribution to disarmament by stopping the replacement of Trident and this would be an initiative that would have an international impact for good."