Let’s lift the veil of secrecy over land ownership - Readers' Letters

While defending his client against allegations of systemic corruption, cronyism, jury intimidation, misuse of public funds and links to cocaine trafficking the former British Attorney General was not acting for one of his constituents in Torridge and West Devon but for the PM of the British Virgin Islands. For this and other services, Geoffrey Cox was paid almost £900,000 by international law firm, Withersworldwide LLP and others over the past year.

MP Geoffrey Cox is under pressure

The furore surrounding Geoffrey Cox's money-spinning sojourn in the Caribbean has prompted us to again shine a light on the ownership of Scottish land by foreign owned companies, such as those registered in the British Virgin Islands.

Foreign companies own 750,000 acres of Scottish land worth £4.4 billion. Many of these companies are registered in tax havens which allows them to avoid paying tax. It is deeply concerning that no one knows who owns £4.4 billion of Scottish property. Much of the Isle of Jura, where I live, is owned or leased by companies registered in tax havens including the British Virgin Islands.

The Scottish Government, however, is intending to introduce regulations for a new public register of controlling interests which will take effect from 1 April 2022. It is to be hoped that this will go some way to lifting the veil of secrecy on beneficial ownership of land in Scotland.

And, in the meantime, if Sir Geoffrey were to invest his windfall in the Windies into the Tory party coffers, he would be a third of the way to securing his peerage!

Carter Thomson, Isle of Jura, Argyll and Bute

Sovereignty key

Unless Alex Orr (Letters, 10 November) wishes to be included with those who know the price of everything, but the value of nothing he should understand that there were far better reasons for the UK to have voted to leave the EU than mere cash.

In my case I had no wish to exchange precious national sovereignty in order to be a part of a bureaucratic United States of Europe where our voice and heritage would be lost amongst 30 or more competing voices and heritages.

The previous free market and mutual defence arrangements suited us well, but sadly the EU zealots wanted more and more and more, and in fact too much as is shown by the EU's current stresses and strains. Of course few of us imagined having to deal with all of an incompetent UK government, Covid 19 and a spiteful EU.

Tim Flinn, Garvald, East Lothian

No Indy dividend

Many thanks to Alex Orr for his detailed analysis of the economic consequences of Brexit in his letter entitled “No Brexit dividend".

Perhaps he will now serve us with a similar analysis of the potential consequences resulting from Scotland seceding from the UK, considering the lack of a currency, the risk of being outside both the UK and EU common markets for lengthy period of time, as well as the structural budget deficit enlarged by Covid-19, and the balance of trade deficit already existing, to mention a few of the key issues.

John Peter, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire

Dame denial

Fraser Macgregor suggests that the Queen bestows a dame hood on Nicola Sturgeon (Letters, 10 November).

I would desperately hope that she would turn such an offer down given how corrupt and rotten the whole honours system is. Should she be interested, however, and can scrape together about £3 million to donate to the Tory Party, I guarantee the bauble will be in the return post.

D Mitchell, Edinburgh

Climate research

The British approach to COP26 is exemplary yet misleading. The UK cannot make any significant difference globally especially when 99 per cent of emissions are released overseas. We can continue to persuade the greatest emitters to make reductions and lead by example

We must bring an end to opportunism in decision-making by introducing mandatory combined life cycle cost and carbon benefit assessments both for major projects and also those involving energy methods which are to be highly replicated. This approach requires making allowance for emissions in extraction, transportation of materials and in the manufacture of the alternate methods. Significant reductions would be possible when applied to packaging, waste management, transportation and also in natural solutions for carbon retention.

We need to fund UK-specific ongoing research for the drafting of regularly updated advice for all energy and carbon mitigation decisions. Climate change has been part of a natural phenomenon of warming and cooling. This was first demonstrated by 19th century Scottish scientist James Croll based on ice ages with alternating warm periods over billions of years. Carbon is not the sole influencer.

Climate research must continue with open minds. The biggest risk to the planet by far is to accept the status quo.

JHR Hampson, Kinnesswood, Perth and Kinross

On the money

The media is deluged with rhetoric on climate during this COP26, however all the rhetoric is from people wanting to put other people's money on the line.

Things are different for those who are putting their own money on the line. We are told that sea levels are rising catastrophically, yet I notice that the prices of houses near sea level haven't fallen. In particular Sandbanks in Dorset, which has some of the highest property prices in the UK, has beach front houses going for upwards of £4 million. I was recently offered a mortgage that I wouldn't pay off till 2045, so the banks obviously don't believe the doom-mongers.

Geoff Moore, Alness, Highland

Food or thought

103 countries have pledged to significantly reduce methane from oil and gas wells, pipelines, decaying waste in landfill sites and livestock farming by 30 per cent by 2030 compared with 2020 levels.

The UK is on the threshold of having commercially available feed additives for cattle and sheep which has the potential to reduce their methane by over 30 per cent (Scotsman, 9 November). Since there are 7.9 billion people in the world personally emitting methane gas, and vegetarians and vegans even higher levels, can we please feed them the additives and the climate crisis would be solved within a year.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow, West Lothian

Low priorities

In a country where drug deaths are rising year by year, where you can die after waiting for more than two days in vain for an ambulance and where Glaswegians can’t get their bins emptied due to strikes, what is our First Minister concentrating on? It could be one of these or one of the many other issues such as getting the ferry saga sorted so our Islanders can travel freely to and from the mainland.

It could be, but it’s not. Taking a break from the modern equivalent of getting celebrities’ autographs at COP26, Nicola Sturgeon has been interviewing Alan Cumming, a known independence supporter who lives in America, at the launch of his book in Edinburgh (Scotsman, 9 November).

A head of government that thinks she has the time to take part in such publicity events while the country is in a state of crisis with people unable to see doctors and get the treatment required should seriously consider if she is in the right job.

Being able to identify priorities should be one of a First Minister’s qualities. Ms Sturgeon is showing complete disdain for the problems Scots are facing and if she is not interested in the day job, she should perhaps resign and pursue her non-political interests.

Jane Lax, Aberlour, Moray

Sham election

The presidential elections in Nicaragua on Sunday have been widely denounced as a democratic fraud.

Neither the government of Chile nor neighbouring Central American country Costa Rica recognise the results after reports of a national average abstention of 81.5 per cent, although there was no public boycott campaign.

However as many potential candidates, also critical of the Ortega Murillo regime, had been illegally detained people tried to register a protest by not voting properly and so making the election invalid.

Urnas Abiertas, an observer organisation, estimated only 18.5 per cent participation by the electorate. It also reported violence and intimidation in every 'autonomous' region as well as 119 of 153 municipalities.

I was previously an active and enthusiastic supporter of the Sandinista revolution that championed democratic participation to replace the Somoza dictatorship. This farce clearly shows that the people’s struggle must continue.

Phil Macdonald, Innerleithen, Scottish Borders

Green Belt

In view of world opinion recently expressed in the Glasgow summit meeting to phase out any destruction of forests, an obvious question to ask is whether the Edinburgh City Council is about to change its policy of devouring its Green Belt and replacing it with housing.

It seems only reasonable that it should bow to international opinion and fall into line.

If this is not the case, is it not time to declare its leaders incompetent, and to replace them by those with opinions which are up-to-date, and who can manage any remaining Green Belt according to normal forest practices?

Eric White, Edinburgh

Honest mistake

Margot Kerr accuses Brian Monteith of choosing to ignore the Lib Dems completely (Letters, 9 November). Just like everybody else then.

Mark Boyle. Johnstone, Renfrewshire

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