PEACE campaigners yesterday launched a petition aimed at forcing the removal of nuclear weapons from Scotland.

The Declaration of Faslane was drawn up by the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and is backed by the SNP, whose leader Alex Salmond said that when it is presented to the Scottish Parliament it will help persuade Westminster to remove the weapons from Coulport and Faslane. ''I think the number is up for nuclear weapons in Scotland,'' he said.