Necessary evils

In his letter (15 November), Alan Hinnrichs refers to “unnecessary reckless ideological cuts pursued with such zeal by [Chancellor George] Osborne and his paymasters in the City of London”.

Unjustified pay rises and bonuses cannot be defended but it would be an inconvenient truth to your correspondent that the financial sector of the United Kingdom contributes 25 per cent of taxation receipts.

Without such revenues, the NHS and other crucial basic services and benefits systems simply would not function. At a time of what amounts to a national crisis, “something has to give”.

Brian Cox

Minto Street

Edinburgh