Tories should speak out against xenophobia

Sir, - With the party conference season in full swing and the political commentators going into overdrive, we can only hope for a period of calm.

We may hope for calm, but it is unlikely, especially after the Conservative Party leadership made some very uncomfortable remarks about foreigners.

I have sympathy for those not on the right of politics who voted to leave the EU and I am sure they did it for the very best of reasons, even though I don’t agree with their views.

However, what must be of concern to them is the xenophobia coming out of the party conference – and not by mad right-wing backbenchers, but by those at the top.

It made for very uncomfortable listening and must be a worry to all the people from other countries who have made this country their home.

It would appear the UK Government is determined to adopt the type of British nationalism many find unacceptable and is in danger of taking us back to a time of Victorian principles that categorised people and kept them there for life.

Surely Conservatives with a moral compass must have been dismayed by what they heard at their conference, and surely those – at least in Scotland – will stand up to this type of British nationalism and xenophobia.

If these right-wing Conservatives are not held in check, then these islands will be a much poorer place and will seen as unpleasant for those not born here. Bryan Auchterlonie. Bluebell Cottage, Perth.

Picture: PA. Prime Minister Theresa May speaking at the Conservative Party conference last week.