Falling short

It is no surprise that legal experts consider the Scottish government’s latest attempt at trying to get its Named Person legislation right still falls short of what can work legally (‘SNP’S revived plans for

Named Person still flawed say top lawyers’, 18 August). This government’s refusal to properly accept criticism, means its attempts at correction are half hearted and desperate as they try to cling on to a series of fundamental elements that were wrong from the start.

Although the original thinking behind this law was well meaning, and so initially attracted cross-party support, the SNP overreached with plans to potentially place the state into the heart of family life in an ill-judged attempt to protect the minority of genuinely at risk children.

In particular, proposals for wide-range sharing of information blundered into clashes with European human right laws. Rights to privacy and a family life free of state interference are not prioritised by a Scottish government determined to demonstrate that it knows best.

KEITH HOWELL West Linton, Peeblesshire