Historical facts

Michael Russell has told a Canadian school that "it is vital pupils in our schools develop a strong understanding of Scottish history" (your report, 8 April) and "launched a website with… comprehensive resources for teachers on Scottish history".

That website was created by the body responsible for the new curriculum, Learning and Teaching Scotland (LTS).

If the LTS website is to be a resource used to teach Scottish pupils Scottish history, one of its duties should be to give a true and balanced view of the origins of the Scottish kingdom.

A cursory inspection of the site tells another story, however. When it looks into one of the most significant periods of Scottish history, namely the settlement of English-speaking people in the south of Scotland, it states that "the Angles ceded Lothian to the Scottish king, Kenneth II, and withdrew to Northumberland".

However, the Angles had long since been crushed by the Vikings and King Eadgar of England granted "Lothian" to the Scots king, probably in 973. Moreover, there is not a shred of evidence to suggest that there was any "withdrawal" to Northumberland, or by whom.

As the charters of King David I almost two centuries later confirm, the people of "Lothian" were still referred to as "English".

Why is Mr Russell allowing untruths to be taught to Scottish schoolchildren to suggest that the people of the south-east of Scotland are not the original English-speaking people who settled it?

ANDREW H N GRAY

Craiglea Drive

Edinburgh