JULY 4 was my late Hebridean mother’s birthday and I noticed that on that day the Henry Jackson Society was having a discussion, in the Houses of Parliament, on the defence of Scotland in the event of a vote to leave the UK next September in their referendum.

Knowing how keen my mother was on matters of national defence I decided to attend the discussion to honour the proud memory of her Scottishness.

I have for some time now believed that the SNP’s stance against the use of nuclear weapons would result in an unacceptable loss of jobs in the west of Scotland, and what I heard in that meeting not only confirmed my fears but gave me real cause for concern of Scotland’s ability to mount a workable defence strategy.

On July 5 a Private Members’ Bill was due to go through the House of Commons to ensure that Cameron gives us the EU referendum he has led us to believe will be given to us before the end of 2017.

I have decided that David Cameron, by giving the Scottish people a referendum that could destroy the UK and by refusing to give us a referendum on the EU until after millions more eastern Europeans become eligible to locate in the UK, is living on some strange faraway planet.

I do console myself, however, with the knowledge that most Scots are as canny as my mother was, so do not envisage the breakup of the UK. The problem will arise if and when we actually get the EU referendum as it will be grossly inhuman to send home the foreign nationals who have made their homes here.

For that reason alone, the time for the EU referendum is now.

ALAN KEBBELL, Southampton.