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THE Tories were yesterday accused of fuelling scare stories after the SNP were warned an independent Scotland would have to pay billions to get rid of Trident submarines.

The nationalists told the UK ­Government to “raise their game” after sources at Westminster claimed Scotland would have to stump up ­compensation if the nuclear fleet was moved out of the Clyde to England.

It came as the Tories vowed to block a vote on independence in autumn 2014 if Alex ­Salmond refuses to allow the politically neutral Electoral ­Commission to run the ­referendum.

The SNP have long vowed to send the Trident fleet away from Scotland after independence.

Faslane is currently the base for four Trident submarines, while nearby Coulport is home to their warheads and missiles.

Yesterday, influential Whitehall sources briefed that Scotland would be hit with a bill for billions if the subs were moved south.

But SNP MP Stewart Hosie said the plan would “backfire” on David ­Cameron’s Government.

Hosie said: “The Tories need to raise their game if these scare stories and threats are the best they can offer.

“The Tories are blundering from one PR disaster to another with their ­cack-handed attempts to interfere with Scotland’s referendum.

“Every step the anti-independence parties have taken since Cameron’s chaotic intervention has done nothing but boost support for independence.

“Bullying Scotland over Trident will backfire given that these weapons of mass destruction are not wanted in Scotland, and never have been.

“In fact, a key advantage of ­independence is that it is the only ­constitutional option which gives Scotland the powers to remove these nuclear weapons from our waters.”

But the Ministry of Defence appeared to back the Tories’ claims – insisting Scotland should contribute to the cost of a new nuclear base down south if Faslane and Coulport close.

A MoD official said: “Coulport is a major piece of infrastructure and it would cost billions to replace.

“There would certainly have to be discussions about the cost of moving that infrastructure, which would be phenomenal.”

Another Whitehall official said the implications of Scottish independence for Trident have been under ­consideration for five years.

The official said: “It’s been a constant worry for a long time.

“The Scottish Government’s ­decision to hold a formal vote in 2014 means people will now be drawing up more detailed plans for what happens if you get a complete breakaway.”

The spat came at the end of a long week’s debate over the date of the ­independence referendum – and who would run it – which left the ­governments at Westminster and Edinburgh at loggerheads.

On Thursday, Chancellor George Osborne warned an independent ­Scotland could be barred from using sterling as a currency – possibly ­forcing us into the euro.

And Downing Street said Scotland would have to accept its share ofthe UK’s staggering £1trillion national debt mountain.

One estimate put the figure at £110billion, costing £3billion a year in interest payments alone.

Alex Salmond’s plans to set up a new watchdog instead of using the ­Electoral Commission led the Scottish Tories to warn they could block a vote on independence.

The Tories said he would be ­forbidden by the courts from using the electoral register to conduct the vote if he refused to use the ­politically neutral body.

The register is only ­available for Westminster-approved votes.

The Tories say the SNP could use an edited register which is available to the public, but a quarter of the ­population would not be able to vote in the referendum because they opted to remove their names from it.

They point to a poll on congestion charges held in Edinburgh in 2005, in which thousands of voters were excluded because the city council could not use the full register.

Scottish Tory leader Ruth Davidson said: “For a man who has campaigned all his political life for independence, it is staggering that Alex Salmond is refusing to accept the UK Government’s offer to give him the powers to have a fair, legal and decisive referendum.

“If he continues along this path, he risks excluding more than a million Scots from taking part in the most important decision for 300 years.

“We need a fair, legal and decisive vote as soon as possible so the future of Scotland is settled in the court of public opinion and not the law courts of Scotland.”

Scotland Office minister David ­Mundell said: “The UK Government has set out clearly that the Scottish government cannot legislate lawfully for a referendum with its current ­powers.

“The full electoral register can only be used for specific purposes such as the general or Holyrood elections.

“The legal position is clear. If the SNP go ahead with their referendum then it will be nothing more than an opinion poll, with a million Scots unable to be asked for their view.”

But Stewart Hosie said: “The Scottish Government is entirely confident of its position, and of the overwhelming mandate it has received from the ­people to hold a referendum.

“In any event, the claim that the full electoral register will not be used for the referendum is simply nonsense.

“Unlike the Edinburgh congestion poll, the referendum on independence will be based on legislation in the ­Scottish parliament which will require the full electoral register to be used for the referendum, including ­anonymous entries.”

The First Minister was in Abu Dhabi yesterday to sign a deal on ­renewable energy. He was planning to address the World Future Energy ­Summit as a guest of green energy firm Masdar.

At home, his aides confirmed he will launch his Government’s ­consultation paper on the independence refendum on Burns Night, January 25.

It will set out the options the ­Scottish public will have in a vote, including the option of “devo max”, which would devolve all power to Scotland except defence and foreign policy.

It is thought David Cameron’s sudden intervention into the debate last week came after the Tories heard of the Burns Night plan. Not only is the Prime Minister opposed to ­independence, he is known to hate the devo max option too.

Meanwhile, Scottish Secretary Michael Moore called for a meeting with Salmond this week for referendum talks.

It follows the First Minister’s call for Cameron and Nick Clegg to meet him in Scotland, which was rejected by Downing Street.

Lib Dem MP Moore said: “I was pleased to hear the First Minister ­suggest talks with the UK Government and I want us to meet this week to start making progress.

“We want this referendum made in Scotland and we should start the work this week in Edinburgh.”

SNP Cabinet Secretary Bruce Crawford said: “We are always happy to meet with Mr Moore whenever it can be arranged.

“He is not a member of the ‘Quad’of David Cameron, George Osborne, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander who are leading Westminster’s policy in relation to Scotland’s referendum.

“Therefore it is clearly necessary that we also meet with the Prime Minister, who is deciding Downing Street’s policy.

“After all, it was David Cameron who made the intervention in which he tried to bounce an early referendum on Scotland and impose terms.”

The First Minister’s spokesman added: “We will bring ­forward fair proposals in our ­consultation document later this month, so that the referendum process can be settled to everyone’s satisfaction.

“The case is strong. An independent Scotland would be sixth in the world league of OECD nations in terms of gross domestic product per head, 10 places ahead of the UK.”