Readers' Letters: Scotland hobbled by Westminster when it came to Covid PPE

Neil Anderson (Letters, 26 March) obviously didn’t notice that on 24 March the former Scottish health secretary Jeane Freeman confirmed statements from a Covid inquiry lawyer who revealed that the Foreign Office had instructed UK embassies to withdraw support from the Scottish Government when negotiating PPE contracts abroad.

Freeman agreed with the lawyer’s assertion that “the suppliers of PPE in England had been instructed to prioritise English NHS settings over Scotland, even where suppliers were contractually committed to Scottish supply”.

In April 2020, the main UK supplier, Gompels, said that it would not supply Scotland or Wales under a contract it held with Public Health England. At the time Donald Macaskill, the Chief Executive of Scottish Care, claimed dozens of care home providers were told by companies that they could not sell in Scotland as NHS England was the priority.

Former Scottish Cabinet Secretary for Health Jeane Freeman arrives ahead of her appearance at the Covid-19 Inquiry on Monday (Picture: Leon Neal/Getty Images)

So much for a four-nation approach to dealing with Covid, it was only when Scotland, with no control over its border, went its own way that cases and fatalities were reduced.

Mary Thomas, Edinburgh

Peer group

E Campbell raises the question of the unelected members of the House of Lords and I fully concur in his comments (Letters, 26 March).

However, the current manner for occupying a red seat is too useful for prime ministers to pay political debts and as both parties are guilty of doing so it is difficult to see any changes in the foreseeable future. When and if it should become an elected chamber, how will this affect the precedence of the Commons over the Lords? With both being elected, they should be given equal authority.

C Lowson, Fareham, Hants

Energy silence

The Scotsman article “UK ministers under mounting pressure over Scotland's first carbon capture site Acorn” (26 March) made no reference to the impact of such a technology on the unit price of electricity charged to the consumer.

Pump systems devour electricity as they transfer the CO2 from the power station to the North Sea depository using around 40 per cent of the electricity output in the process. That means if the grid system requires 900MW from the Peterhead Acorn plant then the station output must be increased by 360MW and the consumer must not only pay the increased capital cost in their energy bills but must also cover the cost of pumping the CO2.

That will increase the 27p/unit cost of electricity even higher, thus leading to an even higher impact on the cost of living crisis and an even higher disparity over that of domestic gas, which only costs 7p/unit ! Why the silence from our politicians over the net zero debts ?

Ian Moir, Castle Douglas, Dumfries & Galloway

Green con

Industry sources tell us, authoritatively, that the North Sea could produce around half of all the oil and gas the UK will need up until at least 2050 – if new projects are developed. Meanwhile, as instead we shut down our existing wealth, China continues burning dirty coal and making us more dependent on their products.

As it stands, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) says the UK is on track to produce just four billion of the 13-15bn barrels of oil and gas the country will need over the next 25 years.

It is time for those making decisions in London and Edinburgh to put away all the green zealotry nonsense and get the UK powerhouse moving again. Given 25 years they could make a good start on installing small, clean, nuclear plants dotted across the UK to help in great part to pick up the load.

We need planning, not zealotry. It is now even more clear the green emperor is not wearing clothes. When will Energy Secretary David Miliband be convinced?

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Better together

Whether Greenland remains part of Denmark (and the EU) or chooses independence, we need to ask the people of Greenland if they would kindly sell some minerals needed for European rearmament.

With determined preparation, Europe united can drive any Russian army back to Russia. We have many times the economic power of Russia.

Tim Cox, Bern, Switzerland

Wrong spot

Regarding Gary Sayer’s letter “Elsie's time?” (25 March), it would surely be inappropriate to site a statue of Dr Elsie Inglis opposite the existing bronze memorial plaque at Edinburgh's 219 High Street.

This plaque was provided by the late Dr Anne Shepherd, whose aunt, Dr Helen MacDougall, had worked with Elsie in Serbia. If there has to be a statue (I'm sure Elsie would have been horrified by the idea, preferring any money to go to the poor), could it not be elsewhere rather than eclipse what already exists; perhaps in that street which already commemorates her name, or by the Elsie Inglis Memorial Maternity Pavilion built in her name but closed circa 1989.

C Wilson, Edinburgh

Counting chickens

Sir John Curtice states that it is “inevitable” the SNP will be at the core of the next Holyrood government and even that independence will be back on the table (your report, 26 March). Brave words.

A year is a very long time in politics and given the utterly awful record of the SNP over the last 20 years and the fact that the major problems over independence have never been solved this is perhaps an unwise declaration.

The more interesting fact about the Holyrood 2026 election might well be the size of the turnout. Trust in politics has been ebbing away at an alarming rate. That might be the real story on the night.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Down with Easter

Philosopher AC Grayling said the major reason for the continuance of religious belief in a world which might otherwise have long moved beyond it is indoctrination of children before they reach the age of reason. Norwood Primary School in Hampshire has sent a letter to parents and carers informing them that the Easter Service would not be held this year "in the spirit of inclusivity and respect for the diverse religious beliefs represented within our school community".

We live in a multi-racial, multi-cultural, principally secular society. By educating children from all backgrounds together, without emphasis on any particular religion, there is a far greater chance of mutual understanding and personal friendships. Enthusiasts of all faiths oppose secular education because exposure to other traditions has the effect of loosening the grip of their own. The steady move away from Christianity in this country may be traced to a number of factors: education, apathy, immigration and the well-documented incidence of abuse among Christian clerics. Christianity should have its privileged position in our schools removed. Religion-free morals – which predate by centuries their Christian counterparts – are freely available.

Doug Clark, Currie, Edinburgh

Bad example

To say that the wish for Scottish independence has nothing to do with nationalism flies in face of the facts (Grant Frazer, Letters, 25 March). In 1934 the SNP was founded by a union of the Scottish Nationalist Party with the more moderate Scottish Party. And unlike Mr Frazer I wouldn't choose Estonia as an example to follow because its history is so different from that of Scotland.

Take its main university, at Tartu. Founded by the King of Sweden in 1632 when that part of the country was ruled by the Swedes, it was refounded under the Tsar when the Russians beat the Swedes in war, and was run by and for the Baltic Germans who ran the country as a land-owning elite after a deal they had struck with Catherine the Great. Tuition was in German and professors were paid in rubles. Estonian wasn't used until the early 20th century.

At the end of the First World War the Estonians fought the Bolsheviks with British help, and became independent until the Second World War, when they again became part of the USSR, becoming independent yet again in 1991 after a referendum with a 78 per cent Yes vote. Today their worries about being invaded by Putin are assuaged –to a degree – by the presence of British soldiers.

Hugh Pennington, Aberdeen

Gravy train

I'm grateful to your correspondent Peter Heubeck, adviser to the Campaign for Borders Rail, for joining the debate regarding a £10 million study of that line's potential extension to Carlisle (Letters, 25 March). Perhaps out of courtesy, none of my data or substantive arguments, including latest rather disappointing traffic numbers on the completed Tweedbank section, were actually refuted.

However, there was in his letter one real challenge from the pro-rail side. This came in the statement that the “Scott Wilson study in 2000 did not preclude a later extension beyond Tweedbank”. This misleads, for that Report – covering 24 base options – emphatically did not find an economic case for options south of Tweedbank, in part due to the very high costs of overcoming the post-closure physical disturbances to the line. The situation is now worse with the collapse of the long Whitrope Tunnel. Even back in 2000, train and track operating companies saw “few benefits to such a route because it would be relatively slow for passengers, with too many gradients"

That original Scott Wilson report cost £400,000; the new one is £10m, mainly going in professional fees. The gravy train is about to depart....

Peter Smaill, Borthwick, Midlothian

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