A PLEA from Strathclyde Police for help with its £5.5million bill for the Faslane 365 demo has been rejected by the Scottish Government.

A PLEA from Strathclyde Police for help with its £5.5million bill for the Faslane 365 demo has been rejected by the Scottish Government.

The year of anti-nuclear protests at the Clyde naval base caused public uproar because of the huge policing costs and officers being moved from community posts to cover the blockades.

Strathclyde Police Board wrote to the Scottish Government last month asking for help footing the bill after the issue was raised by Chief Constable Sir Willie Rae.

The cost until the end of July - including overtime and vehicle hire - was £5.1m.

This figure is expected to rise to £5.5m when the last two months are added on, including the bill for the huge final-day blockade on October 1, when 184 demonstrators were arrested.

In a letter to the government, the board said the year-long demo was "highly unusual" and a "direct consequence of the location of the (UK) government establishment" within the force area.

Board clerk Mike Blair also said support had been provided to Scots police forces for "other unusual events" such as the G8 summit in 2005.

He requested a grant to meet the costs and asked whether any help could be offered in the event of similar protests in the future.

But in a reply Bridget Campbell, director of the police section of the Justice Department, said: "The need to police Faslane will have been built into the force's budgets.

"It does not seem to me, therefore, there is a need to provide specific grant support in this instance."

On the prospect of future protests depleting staff levels, Ms Campbell also offered no support.

Board chairman Paul Rooney said: "I felt the response was unsatisfactory. I will be now taking up the matter with (Justice Secretary) Kenny MacAskill directly."