A RETIRED senior army officer has rubbished claims that Britain’s nuclear arsenal is “independent” as the shadow defence secretary denied that Scottish Labour’s vote to reject Trident would change British party policy.

Former 2nd Division commander Major General Patrick Cordingley argued that the US controls all British nuclear operations and that disarmament would affect the relationship between the two countries.

“There is a possibility that they’ll cut all the information off that we get from them because we share our nuclear knowhow,” Maj Gen Cordingley told Russia Today journalist Afshin Rattansi.