Glasgow MSP and leader of the Scottish Socialist Party, Tommy Sheridan, has been arrested at the latest protest outside the Faslane nuclear submarine base.

More than 800 protestors from the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and Trident Ploughshares occupied the gates of the base near Helensburgh on Monday, where four Trident submarines are located. In the first 90 minutes of the demonstration approximately 40 arrests were made, which also included two Church of Scotland ministers, as well as SNP MSP Lloyd Quinan and Irish Green Party MEP Patricia McKenna. 150 arrests were made in total.

Speaking at the protest, Sheridan said: "Nuclear weapons have no place in the 21st century. We should be channelling resources towards pensioners, the homeless and fighting the war against poverty which are a scar on Scottish society."

Sheridan has a history of being arrested during protests. The man who cites "the life and works of John MacLean, Leon Trotsky, Lenin, Che Guevara, Fidel Castro and Tony Benn" as his inspiration was jailed in December 2000 when he refused to pay a court fine following his arrest at the base.

Joint secretary of CND Scotland, Brian Quail, said: "We could be on the brink of a civil war in Pakistan and who knows what's going to happen in Afghanistan? So really, this demonstration has come at a very poignant time. No matter what happens, we will continue to vehemently oppose these barbaric and inhumane weapons of mass destruction."