Intellect but poor judgment

Sir, – It seems that your correspondent Jill Stephenson is on the lookout for any opportunity to have a go at the SNP in general and the First Minister in particular.

However, the vast majority of her recent letter (Courier, April 20) represents no more than inaccurate nit-picking.

First she suggests that senior party members with personal views on certain issues are a party weakness and planned rallies by the rank and file are signs of impatience in the wait for another referendum.

She also suggests that the First Minister’s judgment is suspect because two former ministers have a different view.

She even talks about mutterings which in any other language means rumours.

Her big mistake was to make reference to a company called Cambridge Analytica, a firm with undisputed links to the party of her choice, which is under the spotlight for misuse of personal data found on social media.

Despite the fact that this company initiated an unsuccessful bid to interest the SNP in its services she accuses the SNP of hypocrisy for reporting the facts of the matter.

As a professor emeritus of St Andrews university her high IQ rating is surely not in doubt, but being credited with a high level of intelligence does not necessarily guarantee that the individual’s judgment is reliable, which is a pity because her entirely misleading conclusion was highlighted as the quote of the day in the letters page. Allan A MacDougall. 37 Forth Park, Bridge of Allan.