It’s too soon to reopen Scottish pubs

It seems extraordinary that the First Minister has repeatedly stated at her daily press briefings that she will gradually move the country out of lockdown, ensuring that any easing is measured and controlled, being conditional on the R number being kept low and cases continuing to decline, then suddenly Fergus Ewing announces pubs, restaurants and hotels will be back open in a month. This is actually bewildering.

What is even more offensive is that it comes two days after the First Minister announced an extension to the period of self-isolation for those in the shielded group, and said that they “will not be forgotten”. It seems it took her two whole days to forget.

The hospitality sector started making a lot of noise and suddenly the government jumps to attention and starts prioritising young people who want to go out revelling.

The Scottish Government are recorded quite clearly supporting the continued opening of social venues in March, which as we have learned was responsible for doubling the death toll. That means 2,000 people died unnecessarily because they prioritised people’s right to socialise over the lives of the elderly and vulnerable. Now it seems they want to pander again to publicans and hoteliers, who are more than happy to threaten staff redundancies if they don’t get their way.

I think this announcement is a disgraceful slap in the face for those shielding who have to stay in all the time, and is also an abject betrayal of promises made. How do you think these vulnerable people will feel, knowing young people are getting drunk, losing their inhibitions, ignoring social distancing and spreading a virus that can endanger the vulnerable’s lives?

As was seen after the VE Day street parties in England, after which many health boards recorded a spike in virus cases, this is exactly what will happen in Scotland. In fact, I suspect that it will be worse, given the behaviour of many young people in Scotland’s nightspots in the week leading up to lockdown, when the disregard for any hygiene rules was astonishing.

This attitude goes across the board, as was seen when the First Minister was comprehensively ignored by thousands of protesters in Glasgow and Edinburgh last week after appealing for them not to attend mass gatherings due to social distancing restrictions.

Maybe the SNP think that we are the same as Ireland, but it seems that they had less than a third of our deaths with the same population and they maintained one of the best track and trace programmes in Europe right through from late February till the present time. Even despite these differences they are probably still being too hasty, giving in to the politically powerful leisure sector in Ireland.

The basic truth is that alcohol and social distancing are non-compatible. The UK government have backtracked on the opening of schools before summer, realising they were incorrect. Let us hope the Scottish Government do the same with this terrible announcement.

M Terry, Rait Loan, Nairn

Covid death rate

Professor Paddy Farrington (Letters, 11 June) claims that the UK has a coronavirus death rate “only matched... by the US”.

Last time I checked just a few days ago, using figures published by a highly-regarded university, the US was down at eighth in this unhappy league, the UK (including Scotland) was second, not all that different from Italy and Spain at third and fourth and Belgium was the leader.

He also claims that our position is due almost entirely to the “catastrophic error” of not employing lockdown earlier (why wasn’t he using his position to timely shout out about this?) but fails to explain why Sweden, with no lockdown, has had a far lower death rate.

One obvious reason for the rapid spread here is, as I have suggested previously (Letters, 4 May), population density. Brian Monteith’s “pressganged statistics” mainly tried to put numbers to this. I should add that frequently updated maps readily available on the internet clearly demonstrate the same. The UK is more disadvantaged in this respect than any other European country.

Finally, I will repeat that, in spite of Professor Farrington’s claim, Scotland did have all of the resources necessary for a go-it-alone approach to this tragedy, but wisely chose not to.

Sadly, the one Covid-19 area in which the UK really does seem to be a world leader is political point scoring by those possessing what I have called “prescient hindsight”.

(Dr) A McCormick, Kirkland Road, Terregles

Help the needy

What with all the expense of lockdown this year, I hope we have not forgotten our commitment to International Aid. As it is calculated as 0.7 per cent of GDP, it will be smaller this year as our economy has collapsed, but we must not make excuses. Many countries depend on this money to pursue their important climate change policies.

Malcolm Parkin, Kinnesswood, Kinross

BLM concerns

A lot of things bother me about the Black Lives Matter campaign, not least the cheering of some protesters when a mounted policewoman was almost killed when her horse bolted after flares and a Boris Bike were thrown at it and she crashed into a traffic light.

But the discussion it has caused has changed my thinking in two ways.

The first is, I am certain we should not remove statues and street signs. This would erase accessible reminders of our worst history, just as Germany has kept many buildings associated with Nazism. I agree that plaques explaining the whole context should be added.

The second is an article by David Alston, former Highland Lib Dem councillor and recently resigned chairman of NHS Highland.

It documents the disproportionate scale of Scottish involvement in slavery, not just by feckless sons of the aristocracy but also lower-class Scots, many of them Highlanders. One of his examples was the impoverished Robert Burns, who was able to write such elevated poetry as A Man’s a Man for A’ That yet contemplate a job on a slave plantation.

Scotland’s – and Scots’ reputation in the world – was built mostly in the time since 1707, since the Union, and I have been proud of that all my life.

If we can come to terms with this part of our history without caving in to the extremist wing of BLM and other commentators who want to use it to destroy the United Kingdom we can be even prouder.

Allan Sutherland, Willow Row, Stonehaven

What the Dickens?

I read that flowers were placed this week at the village where Charles Dickens died to mark the 150th anniversary of his death (your report, 10 June).

Presumably these were subsequently destroyed by self- righteous vandals on the basis that many believe Dickens to have been a racist?

David Edgar, Main Street, Symington

Dundas defence

With regard to the debate on the statue of my ancestor Henry Dundas, he was a man of great courage. Like our First Minister today, he was having to make difficult decisions in dangerous times: for Nicola Sturgeon the pandemic, for Henry Dundas the French Revolution and the effect it would have on Britain.

He had his faults, but most troubling to his descendants is the inference that he deliberately, to pander to the moneyed, delayed the abolishing of the slavery of our fellow man.

Respected historians have explained to me he was waiting until the time was right. The vociferous this week have bayed for his statue to be cast into the Firth of Forth, which would have amused him.

He had an enormous love for his country – again, historians have explained to me had it not been for Dundas, Scotland after the Union would have been a mere colony today.

I appreciate the wording of the proposed plaque: it sounds fairish to me. The statue was erected 25 years after his death by public subscription, which does give a hint of his immense popularity. I would have liked to include his brilliant legal defence of the slave Joseph Knight.

Althea Dundas-Bekker, Gorebridge, Midlothian

New slavers

Slavery is still present on an industrial scale. It is a larger economy than narcotics.

A large part of modern slavery is the forcible abduction by criminals of school-age girls from Eastern Europe. They work in Western Europe as unpaid prostitutes. They are bought and sold.

Many more are lured by the promise of some different employment and caged in a contract of invented debt.

Men and women of all ages are imprisoned for menial work, with all earnings going to criminal employers. I don’t see anyone choking the streets and shouting indignation or defiling the fine possessions of the new slavers.

Tim Cox, Bern 6, Switzerland

All at sea?

I do not understand the attitude of politicians who permit the use of taxpayers’ money to import equipment for projects such as the North Sea wind development to achieve a lower purchase price. Or perhaps big business dictates where goods will be obtained to maximise their profits?

Either way, it would be more beneficial for UK taxes to be spent here to provide employment and probably save money on benefits.

A government department ought to be in charge of expenditure of this nature to ensure that the UK gets the deal that best suits us.

AA Bullions, Glencairn Crescent, Leven

Freedom for statues!

Clearly we must pull down all our statues to William Wallace and Robert The Bruce, which must be causing great offence to English tourists.

John V. Lloyd, Keith Place, Inverkeithing

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It’s too soon to reopen Scottish pubs – Letters

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