Letter: Draconian laws

IT IS not only the Moderator of the General Assembly who is concerned about the speed with which Alex Salmond intends passing his draconian anti-sectarian laws, the tenor of which suggests they could be used to prosecute secularists and others if they criticise any groups which, although they represent only a small minority, demand a direct say in the political agenda of Scotland (your report, 18 June).

How long will it be before we have a board of censors to examine books and newspapers for material that might offend our clerics?

Perhaps "Banned by the Censor" will become a much sought-after accolade by authors. To see how the system could develop we might take a look at post-war Ireland, whose ethos is much admired by many of our politicians and academics.

There, censorship, ostensibly introduced to protect the state, was used to silence critics of the government and the Catholic Church.

Could anyone who now published the anti-Muslim cartoons from Denmark be incarcerated?

JACK KILPATRICK

Lairhills Road

East Kilbride