Sneeze but don’t spread disease

Sir, – I wonder how many letters you will receive in response to your editorial (January 16) drawing our attention to a medical report inviting us all to sneeze freely uncovered, wherever we are.

We are all trying to avoid the troubling forecast of flu, and will be reluctant to go into public places where everyone is splashing their sneeze germs and letting them travel as far as they can. I still hope it is worth holding up a handkerchief to try to cut down the spread of the bugs from an unexpected sneeze, without actually blowing the back out of our throats.

Dr Norma H. Smith. 7 Adelaide Tce, Dundee.

to protect Scotland’s interests”.

Now we have seen truth of that.

Rather than sticking up for Scotland, those same Tories did Theresa May’s bidding, refusing to vote with all other Scottish MPs to back a Labour amendment which would have meant powers repatriated from Brussels after Brexit would have come to Scotland.

The Labour amendment would have removed the restrictions on the devolved legislatures from altering retained EU law in areas in which the devolution settlement say they have competence.

This amendment would also have established a procedure to reach agreement on UK-wide frameworks on those policy areas which currently are held at the EU but devolved within the UK.

The Labour amendment was defeated by a majority of 24. Had Scotland’s 13 Tories really wanted to protect Scotland’s interests they would have supported the amendment that was backed by every other Scottish MP across party lines. So much for standing up for Scotland.

Astonishingly (or maybe not), the BBC’s Scottish politics section did not even mention this, instead preferring a report on scallops and a half-hearted attempt at an “NHS bad” story.

How all the Scottish MPs had simply been sidelined, leaving our democracy in the hands of George Foulkes, Michelle Mone and some bishops in the Lords, did not warrant a line.

The next morning BBC Scotland reported on snow.

Are we ever going to have a public broadcaster in Scotland worthy of the name? Walter Hamilton. Flat 3 City Park, City Road, St Andrews.

Rather than sticking up for Scotland, those same Tories did Theresa May’s bidding, refusing to vote with all other Scottish MPs to back a Labour amendment which would have meant powers repatriated from Brussels after Brexit would have come to Scotland