Regret over rules

Again, two public figures give weasel-worded “apologies” following the precedents set by George Mathewson, Fred Goodwin and Liam Fox.

David Goodhew of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said “it is a source of regret that we were not able to rescue Alison Hume” instead of “…we did not use the resources we had on site to rescue…” (your report, 17 November).

His boss, Brian Sweeney, now says we “apologise for its tragic outcome” instead of “we apologise for giving such undue weight to our rulebook that, despite a firefighter actually being in the mineshaft with her at 3am and wanting to lift her out, we left her there for almost five more hours leading to her death soon after.

“We ignored the maxim that rules are for the blind obedience of fools and the guidance of the wise.”

John Birkett

Horseleys Park

St Andrews