Adam Smith's grave

Fraser Nelson is mistaken to say that "the grave of Adam Smith stands lonely and unvisited in Edinburgh" (Opinion, 14 July).

When I visited it this week, the tomb was surrounded by a group of 30 Italian students; nor were they the only people going up to it. And the small tokens that people leave on the monument show how Smith is revered around the world.

On Monday, I saw coins from the eurozone, the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, etc.

Indeed, the fact that so many people seek out Smith’s hard-to-find tomb in the Canongate actually supports Fraser Nelson’s thesis. Namely, that the Scottish Enlightenment faith in ordinary people to run their affairs better than political elites has now swept the world; except, as he says, in France - and Holyrood.

(DR) EAMONN BUTLER

Director, Adam Smith Institute

Great Smith Street

London