Salmond revisited

Alex Salmond was widely praised for his performance on Friday. Patient, polite, well preparedandrefusingtomake claims and accusations without producing evidence or assuring and convincing us it exists.

He reminded us of the importance of democracy, justice and proper use of civil servants, freely admitting the current situation would not happen in Westminster.

Sadly he didn't conduct the 2014 referendum with the same honesty and decency. Instead he deployed the civil service to create a "Scotland's Future" manifesto that ludicrously claimed we’d be up and running in 18 months and fast tracked into the EU, all at a cost, he asserted with no authoritative evidence, of "as little as" £200m. In the case of the EU he refused to release the letter – the evidence – from the EU that confirmed this. If he had, I'm sure, like the more realistic Growth Commission Report, the campaign would never have got off the ground, but at least his proposition would have got a proper, democratic, reasoned hearingandwemighthaveavoided splitting families, friendships, workplaces and commercial relationships, and avoided another seven years of decline, division and indy can-kicking.

I suppose we should just be grateful that his time in the wilderness and damascene conversion to truth has enabled him to ignite the process of slaying the monster he created, ran and bequeathed to the nation. Sturgeon's resignation should only be the start, We need a new government to get to the bottom of the Line of Duty – like corruption and human tragedies - the nest of vipers that Brian Wilson called it that lie behind this.

ALLAN SUTHERLAND Willow Row, Stonehaven