Letters: Demonstrators should pay the costs of extra policing

The police have not been told of the location of the week-long Climate Camp or where the demonstrations will be held, although forcing their way into the RBS building at Gogarburn is an option.

This would be breaking the law since those wishing to hold demonstrations must advise the police and the local council and obtain a permit.

The majority of these demonstrators are professional activists and flit from one demo to another.

Hug a tree here, sit on a runway there.

Why should Edinburgh taxpayers pay for the extra costs of policing, and why should police be diverted from fighting crime to these duties?

The demonstrators should pay.

The police can arrest those taking part in illegal demonstrations, so it should not be too difficult to target those demonstrators who receive welfare benefits (the majority?) and stop their allowances.

The public should not pay for their beliefs.

Clark Cross , Springfield Road, Linlithgow

Greed is taking over at Festival

AS colourful and vibrant as the Festival/Fringe remains you do wonder if it is in the process of being hijacked by commercial and profit-orientated enterprises.

An obvious example of this is the excessive and blatant advertising that the RBS has on the Royal Mile.

Nobody is denying the importance of financial backing and corporate sponsorship but visitors to the city could be forgiven for thinking that there is some sort of banking event going on simultaneously.

Let the RBS have its adverts by all means but keep it discreet and don't let it upstage the performers or the event itself.

To a lesser degree there are also now numerous outdoor bars and food stalls and though they might add to the spectacle whilst satisfying the hunger and thirst of the many visitors and performers, is this the type of growth that the Festival/Fringe should encourage?

These events are surely first and foremost "people events" and most certainly not about greed and commercialisation, but unless steps are taken that appears to be the route that is being taken.

Angus McGregor, Albion Road, Edinburgh

Buses disappear into the night

WHERE have all the night buses gone? There were certainly none on Saturday night/Sunday morning.

We had just left a Fringe show around 1am and thought we'd get the night bus home. No such luck. Lots of tourists were waiting at bus stops bemoaning the fact that there were no buses.

It's disgraceful that in the Capital where, apparently, the Festival is one of the largest in the world and a big money spinner, the only way home is to walk or take a taxi.

Mrs S F Wilson, Maxwell Street, Edinburgh

Strict criteria for double jeopardy

WHILE the scrapping of the 800-year-old double jeopardy rule is to be welcomed, the retrial of an individual should be only under certain strict conditions.

The concern in all this issue is that it is the media that would potentially fuel the Crown Office into action. This is no bad thing you might say, but the test must at the very least be the same as seeking to appeal a conviction – new evidence that could not have reasonably been laid before the previous court.

It cannot be allowed that a previous Crown decision on evidence, ruling that it was inadmissible, is after acquittal then looked at and another go had with another judge.

There has to be some finality to cases and while the ending of the double jeopardy rule is to be applauded, it should only be under the strictest criteria.

Alex Orr, Leamington Terrace, Edinburgh