Alex Salmond suffers major setback as two MSPs resign However, Mr Finnie warned the conference that if the party voted to back Nato in an independent Scotland then it may not be able to get rid of nuclear weapons on Scottish soil. He said yesterday that he could not belong to a party that "quite rightly does not wish to hold nuclear weapons on its soil, but wants to join a first strike nuclear alliance." He added: "Although I envisage that I will continue to share common ground with the SNP on many issues, I cannot in good conscience continue to take the party whip." Ms Urquhart, who has been a supporter of independence for 25 years and a member of the anti-nuclear weapons group CND for 35 years, added: "The issue of nuclear disarmament and removing Trident from Scotland's waters is a red line issue for me, and I could not remain committed to a party that has committed itself to retaining membership of Nato. We are both steadfast in our belief that Scotland should be an independent country, and will actively and positively campaign for a Yes vote in 2014. We believe in an independent Scotland, not a Nato-dependent Scotland. Defence experts and officials from the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign Office have warned that Nato membership cannot be taken for granted, despite the SNP's new enthusiasm for the organisation, suggesting that Nato officials may take exception to the SNP's anti-nuclear stance. Mr Salmond claimed at the weekend that the party was "comfortable" with the decision but Sandra White, a Glasgow MSP, said it was hypocritical of the party to plan to join the nuclear alliance while opposing nuclear weapons. The First Minister said he was "saddened" by the decision of the two Highland MSPs to leave the party and thanked them for their "tireless efforts." He added: "We had an excellent and democratic debate at party conference last Friday, and agreed a policy of reaffirming our opposition to nuclear weapons as a non-nuclear member of the Nato alliance, a position that will be accepted by the party as a whole. Jean and John have indicated to me that they will continue to support the Government from the back benches, and I welcome that. I also look forward to working with them both in the campaign to achieve a Yes vote in Scotland's referendum in 2014. The SNP won 69 of the 129 seats at Holyrood in last year's election. The choice of Tricia Marwick as the Scottish Parliament's presiding officer meant that later became 68. The Dunfermline MSP Bill Walker was then suspended from the party in March following allegations of domestic abuse, leaving the party with 67 MSPs before the resignations.