Mr Ross's hypocrisy was exposed, not by legitimately questioning the First Minister over the Ferguson Marine payment of £87,000 in “bonuses” (concerns about which were correctly raised by Audit Scotland) but by not questioning the Prime Minister the day before about the latest “official” UK Government estimate of a £65,000,000,000 “cost overrun” on the HS2 project (which following further delay and a possible doubling of that cost overrun, as estimated by Lord Tony Berkeley, will perhaps one day – at least 20 years from now – enable people from Scotland to travel to London marginally quicker by train).

Surely as Scottish taxpayers continue to contribute to the huge and growing interest payments on the UK Government debt which is now at a “colossal level” (the words of former Tory Chancellor Ken Clarke), one would have expected at PMQs the avidly cost-conscious Mr Ross to have animatedly expressed his alarm and deep concern at this massively expensive failing. Instead what we got from him and his Scottish Tory colleagues at Westminster was yet more silence on staggering UK Government profligacy.

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

Scottish Conservative Party leader Douglas Ross at First Minister's Questions on Thursday (Picture: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Choked unicorn

Whenever someone mentions our “vast offshore wind and tidal resources” it’s invariably a separatist trying to justify dismantling the UK.Fraser Grant is the latest to express such time-honoured outrage (Letters, 16 March). He complains that being part of Great Britain and out of the EU has held Scotland back and “thus allowed Norway and Denmark to become world leaders in renewable manufacturing and shipping”.The government of Norway (not an EU member) released a study in November into the world’s biggest offshore wind farm, under construction at Dogger Bank. The conclusion was that this project, run by state-owned energy company Equinor, was “unprofitable”. Even Equinor did not disagree with this assessment.How could the opportunity to invest in white elephant schemes that do not even earn their cost of capital possibly be an asset to Mr Grant’s yearned-for Scottish Republic?As for his shipping claims, the nationalised Ferguson Marine debacle doesn’t inspire much confidence. And how exactly would struggling shipyards fill their order books without MOD contracts?None of the SNP’s “unchain the unicorn” balderdash ever stands up to close scrutiny.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

Dark words

Michael Russell, President of the Scottish National Party, is quoted as having said that warnings of vote-rigging “damage our cause and aid our enemies”. In my opinion “enemies” is a singularly inappropriate word for a person in his position to use to describe those who choose not to support his party.

John McCulloch, Penicuik, Midlothian

OAP uncertainty

When commenting on the abolition of the pensions lifetime allowance, Alexander Brown talks about “those who have paid over a million into their pensions” being given extra support (7 March). One important thing to note is that the allowance isn't just about contributions made – it also includes growth in the funds you choose to invest in. This means you could pay in a lot less than a million yet still breach the allowance if your funds perform as well as you'd hope they would over a lifetime of saving.

While I question the move to abolish the allowance being a priority right now it will help a lot more people in the future. Ultimately, it would be nice to get a cross-party long-term consensus on the treatment of pensions so that all UK savers have some degree of certainty and don't have to contend with the goalposts moving every couple of years.

J Lewis, Edinburgh

Pension potty

Won’t the Chancellor, by removing the cap on taxable private pension contributions, cause more high earners to add bigger contributions to their pension pot in order to enjoy a bigger pension earlier?

Richard Perry, Burntisland, Fife

Go it alone

As an SNP member since 2005 I have voted for Kate Forbes as number one choice for leader and Ash Regan as number two, because I believe, especially with a Tory opposition, it is time to park the GRR legislation for the moment. That is not to say it should never be enacted. It is time to head back to governing effectively as a minority government – the Scottish Green Party should not be dictating whether infrastructure projects such as A9 and A96 dualling go ahead, or encouraging the government to ignore North East Scotland folk who work in the valuable oil and gas industry.

It is time to dare the Scottish Labour Party, Scottish Liberal Democrats, Scottish Green Party and Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party to vote down a budget, especially with 64 SNP MSPs. If they choose to play party politics with the key services in Scotland such as health, education and public transport, let them face the full wrath of Scottish electorate.

Let the SNP not hide behind the Scottish Green Party simply to get a budget passed and because they support Scottish independence.

Peter Ovenstone, Peterhead, Aberdeenshire

Well, Nicola..

Nicola Sturgeon claims not to know why Ash Regan and Kate Forbes have concerns about integrity and transparency in the SNP, as the leadership contest reaches its closing stages.

Let me assist her. Third candidate Humza Yousaf is widely considered to be the SNP establishment’s favoured choice. Sturgeon and her husband, SNP CEO Peter Murrell, sit at the heart of the SNP establishment and, as such, will have ultimate responsibility for counting the votes and announcing the winner. I do hope Sturgeon finds this handy explanation helpful.

Martin Redfern, Melrose Roxburghshire

No argument

Rarely have we seen Nicola Sturgeon so uncomfortable at FMQs as she was when challenged on the news of yet another delay and rise in the cost of the infamous ferries. The only counter available to the SNP is that hundreds of jobs were saved by ensuring a future for the shipyard, although even that potential mitigation of the debacle is under threat according to the report of the Auditor General.

Even if there is a secure future for the yard it comes at a cost of about £1 million per job! In the Tory budget the jobs potentially created by a handout to the top 1 per cent of earners is reckoned to be costing about £100,000 per job. By that reckoning the Tories must be much more competent than the SNP. A ridiculous claim? Of course it is. Yet this is the sort of argument – indeed, the only argument – put forward by the SNP in attempting to defend their failures. The performance is bad – but not as bad that of the Tories.

Yet the nodding donkeys on the backbenches seem to be impressed by a performance which can only be described as catastrophic. Incredibly, after John Swinney gave his ferries update which even he himself expected to be “disappointing” to members he was clapped! How Mr Swinney and Ms Sturgeon must fervently wish that on this issue they had ascended to their usual level of mediocrity.

Colin Hamilton, Edinburgh

Lack of foresight

In November 2017, the present Health Secretary and contender for the post of First Minister tweeted that he was looking forward to the launch of the Glen Sannox the next day. He went on to say that commercial shipbuilding was alive and well on the Clyde.

Considering the latest news from the shipyard in question, where six years later and under SNP overall supervision the new ferry he lauded so highly remains unready and the very existence of the shipyard is problematical and those running it are being paid astronomical bonuses for no-one seems to know what, let us hope that if Humza Yousaf gains the post he craves, no judgments or forecasting or promises or predictions of any kind will be involved in the job.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Design fears

It was with some angst I read your 17 March leader noting “design gaps and build errors”, dating back years, in the ferries being built on the Clyde. An older report said work on the North Bridge had been extended after issues were found in areas which hadn’t been inspected in 130 years. Seen together, this doesn’t engender much faith in the management of infrastructure or contracts in Scotland.

How long will it be until any remaining design gaps or build errors are found? I fear for the islanders who will be obliged to rely on the ferries for lifeline transport until these are found and put right.

Neil Robertson, Edinburgh

Who governs?

Responding to Back Off Scotland, Humza Yousaf has said that under his leadership Scotland would withdraw from the 1967 Abortion act. This would mean abortion would be available at any time during pregnancy for any reason (sex- selective, change of mind etc....) right up to 2 or 3 days before due date.

The EU average limit on Abortion is 12 weeks. This move would leave Scotland with one of the most extreme abortion regimes in the world.

Yousaf calls his plans “progressive”! I call his plans terrifying; however, they are exactly in line with the recent calls from (Scottish Greens MSP Gillian MacKay to expand abortion. I often wonder who exactly is running the Scottish Government the SNP or the Greens?

John Smith, Falkirk

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Readers' Letters: Hypocrisy of Tory Ross on display at FMQs

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