Editorial disaster

No-one should criticise Joan McAlpine, Alex Salmond’s parliamentary aide, for writing that the British public’s “obsession” with the Titanic disaster is ghoulish, because it is… but to write on to arguably imply that if the Titanic had been built in Scotland it would have not have collided with an iceberg, or if it did would not have sunk (your report, 19 April), was plain dumb.

Maybe she thinks that if Scott of the Antarctic actually had been a Scot he wouldn’t have starved to death on the way back from the South Pole, or if the Hindenberg had been made at Linwood it wouldn’t have burned in New Jersey.

In Kevin Pringle, Alex Salmond has a perfectly good press officer who rarely puts a foot wrong; it’s way past time that Alex insisted Ms McAlpine’s odd notions should be given the once-over by Kevin before they are published.

David Fiddimore

Calton Road

Edinburgh

In the space of a week various SNP politicians have told us how they will spend what’s left of the remaining oil money in Scotland.

Joan McAlpine told us it would cut energy bills although she didn’t mention if this meant nationalising all energy companies in Scotland. Fergus Ewing told us it will pay for an oil fund. Alex Salmond admitted it would pay for current public spending in Scotland.

Surely the SNP doesn’t think that the people of Scotland are stupid.

Dave Cochrane

Spottiswoode Street

Edinburgh

I see from Peter Swain’s letter attacking Professor Kemp (19 April) that we should no longer use words in their correct context for fear of “giving away our Unionist credentials”.

Is that a hanging offence yet, by the way?

Perhaps the Nationalists could draw up a list of banned words so that we keep on the straight and narrow.

Ian Lewis

Mayfield Terrace

Edinburgh