Only Brexit can give us control of our borders
THE news that four stowaways have been detained at Rosyth in Fife reminds us that irregular immigration is not only something that happens in Kent.
Many in Scotland take the view that we should welcome irregular migrants with open arms.
What such Scots forget is that it is England, with its vastly bigger economy and much larger minority communities into which the new arrivals can disappear, which is the draw. (Indeed, had these four resourceful men not been apprehended, they would very likely have headed across the Tweed.)
It is that embarrassing fact which makes the debate on immigration in Scotland somewhat unreal. The scale of immigration in Southern England and the resulting strength of feeling over the subject has fuelled the growth of Ukip.
Furthermore, if we cannot recognise the needs and desires of our fellow Britons living at the other end of our island, what hope is there for us to understand the positions of people in other parts of the European Union, whose languages and histories we do not share?
It is high time for us to realise that immigration is not a suitable topic for virtue signalling, and that its control, which we can only obtain via Brexit, is a matter of the highest importance.
OttO InglIs, Edinburgh.
Sturgeon’s smokescreen
WATCHING the EU debate with Nicola Sturgeon against Boris Johnson, it was interesting to note what Miss Sturgeon omitted to say rather than what she did say.
Her take on immigration was telling. In stating that it caused ‘some’ pressure on public services but we need to invest more in public services, it was pure ‘doublespeak’.
There was no mention of the mass influx of millions of migrants into the UK the past five years and its drastic effect on failing public services – nor that we are powerless to do anything about it.
Her comment that ‘EU migrants positively contribute to our economy’ is just a smokescreen as no sensible person denies that. But what is at issue is the thousands entering who are unskilled, illiterate, barely able to speak English.
Finally, when challenged on the logic of establishing Scotland as an independent country then handing control to the EU, we were treated to typical Sturgeon waffle.
Conveniently, she ignored the fact that EU is an undemocratic body run by an unelected elite with the aim of creating a United States of Europe.
M. CaMpbEll, troon, ayrshire.
An inconvenient truth
NICOLA Sturgeon claims that, following Brexit, Scotland would use the pound and continue as a member of the EU. Not true.
Brexit means leaving the EU and that applies to all parts of the UK. So if Scotland voted for independence after Brexit and wanted to join the EU it would do so as a new state. All new states under EU law are required to adopt the euro.
Under such a scenario Brexit makes independence less, not more, likely. Voting to leave will make the Union stronger, not weaker. WIllIaM lOnEskIE, lauder, berwickshire.
Flipping stupid
IT IS astonishing that Sarah Wollaston MP can flip from Leave to Remain just because she disagrees with some posters (Mail).
Regardless of what advertisements either side uses, it won’t pay off Greece’s debts or restore the broken economies of Italy and Spain. These are the big issues that will hurt us should we stay.
Is Miss Wollaston unable to see that believing it is in Britain’s interest to uncouple ourselves from Europe before the inevitable collapse is not the same as supporting the advertising of Vote Leave? tIM RaYMOnD, Hythe, kent. HOW soon will it be before we hear that Sarah Wollaston has been promoted to the Cabinet?
lInDa askEM, stoke-on-trent.
Finland’s freedom
LISTENING to Jean Sibelius’s Finlandia, composed in 1900, it made me wonder how the Finns could ever have imagined that they might succeed outside the mighty Russian Empire, with its vast market for the goods of this small, isolated land and with its political capital in faraway Moscow, deciding on the life it should lead. Far better to forget any notion of going it alone, free from the bureaucracy of Mother Russia.
Actually, they did break away and have succeeded on their own, so it can be done.
Finlandia is now one of the most important national songs of a determined, free republic, so there is hope for any other country mulling over whether or not it should also break away from its Big Brother or stay in its suffocating embrace. Might this apply elsewhere?
baRRIE MclEan, Edinburgh. King and country I WAS disappointed that more senior Royals did not attend the Battle of Jutland services (Mail). One young officer on HMS Collingwood was Prince Albert, Duke of York. In 1923, he married Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon and then, in 1936, became George VI, the Queen’s father.
RaY bREbnER, pagham, W. sussex. Access to information AN article on the Named Person scheme quotes a Scottish Government spokesman as saying: ‘The Scottish Information Commissioner’s office has supported the information-sharing provisions within the Act and indicated that they are fully compatible with existing law.’
As Scottish Information Commissioner, my remit extends to Scottish freedom of information (FOI) law. I have no remit for data protection, the regime under which the information-sharing provisions of the Named Person scheme would be considered.
The organisation which should have been named is the (UK) Information Commissioner’s Office. The ICO has responsibility for ensuring that public bodies across the UK comply with their data protection responsibilities under the Data Protection Act.
My remit as Scottish Information Commissioner is entirely separate. In promoting and enforcing Scotland’s FOI laws I am concerned with proactive publication of information by Scottish public authorities and the public’s right to request and receive information from those authorities.
Under FOI we have access to information about a huge range of subjects, including the planning and operation of the Named Person scheme. Anyone who wants more information on using their FOI rights for this or any other reason can find out more at: www.itspublicknowledge. info/yourrights. ROsEMaRY agnEW, scottish
Information Commissioner.
New tricks
SIR David Attenborough, here’s some advice: your TV presenting style could be improved to bring you into the modern age.
When doing a piece to camera, clasp your hands together, then walk forwards. Open your arms so you can shake your hands vigorously with each syllable you speak. Grin patronisingly and talk to us as if we were seven-year-olds.
Remember, you are the story, not the subject you are covering. Oh, and lose the safari jacket. Follow this advice, Sir David, and you could have a decent career.
bOb pHIllIps, bristol.
Sexist garages
GARAGES rip off men more than women drivers (Mail)? I’ve always known they charge you according to what they think you can afford.
In fact, I would say that those charged the least are young, attractive women.
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve heard women say: ‘Oh, he only charged me £20.’ Then when I get a quote, it starts at £200. For years, I sent my wife to the garage with the car — knowing that if I went, I’d have to pay double.
paUl ClEgHORn, bridlington, E. Yorks