The price of oil

At last the former chancellor, Denis Healey (your report, 
20 May), has admitted that ­successive Labour and Tory ­governments lied to the Scottish electorate about the value of the oil wealth in Scottish waters in order to undermine support for independence.

He also says an independent Scotland would now do very well due to oil reserves, but that the current government is “scared stiff” of losing the ­revenues from oil.

All of this is just as many Scots suspected, and on past form we can now expect a torrent of more lies, scare stories and half-truths to try to convince the electorate to vote against independence so that the incredible asset of North Sea oil can ­continue to prop up the ­incompetent Westminster government, which, unlike Norway, has wasted all the benefits of this marvellous opportunity.

James Duncan

Rattray Grove

Edinburgh