Naval protection

David Stevenson’s claim that benefits accruing to Scotland from the Union of 1707 were somehow dubious (Letters, 23 September) is extraordinary.

The two most celebrated, and economically vital, benefits of the Union came to us via the Royal Navy.

They took all the beef cattle that Scotland could produce and ensured that Scotland’s maritime trade routes were better protected than any other nation’s in the world.

Peter Laidlaw

Bramdean Rise

Edinburgh