UNITE leader Len McCluskey has won the backing of more than 100 union branches in Scotland, including that representing the Trident workforce at the Faslane base, as nominations closed in the contest to lead the UK’s biggest union.

The support for McCluskey among Trident workers comes despite his main rival Gerard Coyne vowing to take a harder line in support of retaining the nuclear weapons system if he wins the election.

McCluskey won the backing at Faslane and at the Ineos Grangemouth site as the deadline for branches to nominate candidates closed ahead of a ballot of the union's membership next month.

Under McCluskey's leadership Unite has sought to protect the jobs of workers at the Faslane base, but is not wholly supportive of nuclear weapons.

Speaking to the Sunday Herald, McCluskey, said the Trident workforce's support for his re-election showed most union members favoured his approach on nuclear weapons.

McCluskey said: "I hope that the backing of our members at Faslane demonstrates beyond doubt my support for them and our defence industry, even when politicians’ arguments over the renewal of submarines and the government’s nuclear policy left them facing uncertainty about their futures, their jobs, skills and our communities.

"I am determined that the government will commit to an industrial strategy that keeps UK defence spending in Britain and provides urgent investment in the vital offshore sector."

McCluskey has also won the support of Unite members employed by Lothian Buses, Stagecoach and First Bus.

There was also backing for him in Unite health and local authority branches, including at NHS Tayside, Ayr and Borders, as well as Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen councils.

Coyne's campaign failed to respond to requests about the level of support in Scotland for his candidature.