Sturgeon's misjudgment was real mistake

Nobody is claiming she should not meet, or make representations on behalf of, criminals. The furore has been caused by her judgment being questioned. She said Abdul Rauf had made a mistake. He hadn't. He had committed criminal acts and his mistake was to be caught (twice). To equate this case with that of some poor, desperate soul trying to fiddle the social security is ludicrous.

The SNP has failed to answer a fundamental question – at what level of crime do you tell a constituent no mitigation is appropriate?

Ms Sturgeon would have been much better to admit an error of judgment. Not doing so is a further error made by a minister who, until now, has been one of the few successes of the SNP government. One can only assume she has been leaned on by her leader, who seems to think all you have to do is shout loudly and everything will be all right.

IAN LEWIS

Mayfield Terrace

Edinburgh

Nicola Sturgeon has done nothing wrong. She has broken no rules, no law, no code of conduct. She has not even made the error of judgment opposition politicians are accusing her of, but simply acted as a duly elected representative of one of her Govan constituents.

In their desperation to deflect attention from their cuts to Scotland's budget, their lame-duck Prime Minister and their own criminally charged MPs, Labour are throwing as much mud as possible, hoping it will stick on somebody else.

PATRICK GRADY

Dunchattan Street

Glasgow

Maybe the government should clarify its position on benefit fraud: is it targeting the cheats or not?

On one hand we have an extensive advertising campaign warning benefit cheats it is only a matter of time before they are caught and face severe punishment, and then, when a repeat offender who has stolen massive amounts of taxpayers' money is nabbed, Nicola Sturgeon, our deputy first minister, no less, springs to his defence and pleads for leniency. A mixed message, to say the least.

This will hardly be encouraging to those involved in the investigation to bring this criminal to what they thought was going to be justice, and begs the question: does Ms Sturgeon's "duty of care to her constituents" mean she champions any of them charged with an offence which merits a custodial sentence?

WALTER J ALLAN

Colinton Mains Drive

Edinburgh

The unedifying spectacle of the Labour Party attempting to score political points in regard to Nicola Sturgeon assisting a constituent is predictable and disappointing.

Leaving aside the fact that the Prime Minister and former first ministers have acted similarly in the past, it is a sign of the vacuum in Labour's leadership that, unable to attack the Scottish Government over matters of policy, it resorts to a series of spurious referrals to the various standards bodies and manufactured "scandals" with the now mandatory call of "resign!"

This failure of opposition ill serves the Scottish people.

At a time when there are very real issues needing addressed, the leadership of the Scottish branch of Labour should ask serious questions of its brothers at Westminster regarding our record debt, illegal wars and the new generation of nuclear weapons in the pipeline.

If Iain Gray is so concerned about MSPs supporting criminal behaviour, he can remove his 46 MSPs from their continued adoration of the Blair/Brown fiasco that passes for government.

HENRY MALCOLM

Rose Street

Dunfermline, Fife

What a pantomime! Labour leader Iain Gray, sensing the hand of fate offering him the glory of first ministership, quite foams at the mouth in response to a fairly trivial "error of judgment" by Nicola Sturgeon. One might have thought she had suggested dropping the charges against her constituent.

What's the point in adding to taxpayers' burden by banging him up in jail? Make him repay the theft, fine him five times the amount and give him 1,000 hours of enforceable community service.

ROBERT DOW

Ormiston Road

Tranent, East Lothian