The police don’t stand a chance in today’s Scotland
I HAVE just read Kevin Mckenna’s scathing comments regarding Police Scotland and its response to recent public order situations (“Poverty and political failure lie at the heart of violence”, The Herald, May 17).
The implementation of Police Scotland was widely regarded as a shambles (and had been anticipated well in advance by anyone with any foresight). Police officers today now operate in a society where personal responsibility is sadly lacking and, more recently, wokery is to the fore.
The weekend’s events in the centre of Glasgow were appalling, but I fear the likely invasion of hordes of anarchists for the COP26 conference in November has the potential to make them look like a minor stooshie.
I suggest the Chief Constable invite Mr Mckenna to step out from behind his keyboard and join some frontline officers in November and experience the real world.
Stewart Daniels, Cairneyhill.
I CANNOT understand why Kevin Mckenna is not the First Minister.
He certainly knows all the answers.
Bill Rutherford, Galashiels.
Carte blanche for the fans
THE BBC Scottish news on Sunday evening (May 17) gave a report concerning the behaviour of Rangers fans in Glasgow. During that report there was a statement by Assistant Chief Constable Gary Ritchie. He said: “The scenes we saw last night were completely unacceptable.” He went on to say: “It will not be tolerated on the streets of Glasgow.”
He was wrong. It was tolerated. Nothing was done to stop it. It was allowed to happen. The message is clear: drunken, loutish, thuggish behaviour goes unpunished. Football fans, whatever colour of shirt they wear, must all now surely know that they can behave as they like and nothing will be done to stop them.
David Clark, Tarbolton.
Next time, ban football
THE disgraceful scenes of thousands of jubilant Rangers fans marching into George Square in flagrant disregard for the safety of others (“More fans face arrest as police chief slams ‘disgraceful’ scenes”, The Herald, May 17) must be noted and acted upon by the Government. If there is another pandemic – and let us hope there is not – then we must ban professional football matches completely, no competitions behind closed doors, no exceptions; that licence has expired. It has been displayed on multiple occasions now by various fans across the UK that they cannot be trusted to behave responsibly and public health must take precedence.
Paul Morrison, Glasgow.
Authorities must grasp the nettle
I STRONGLY suspect that, given the opportunity to vote on the matter, the vast majority of the citizens of Glasgow would like Glasgow City Council to send the bill for the clean-up of George Square directly to Rangers Football Club. The unruly mob which let the club down on Saturday was anything but a “small minority”, a term sometimes used by its apologists. Photos clearly show the scale of the mayhem and the disgusting state of George Square afterwards.
The administrators of the football world will have to start taking responsibility for its antisocial elements. They have dodged responsibility for far too long. Glasgow would be miles better without all this.
Dave Stewart, Glasgow.
How much more can we take?
LIKE most Glaswegians I was totally disgusted by the scenes in George Square on Saturday afternoon and evening. My sympathies are with the police, the council workers and the many volunteers who for the second time in a month had to deal with crowds of drunken fans and the aftermath, cleaning mountains of rubbish and repairing damage. How much longer can we tolerate this sort of behaviour destroying our city centre?
We have all had to bear the months of lockdown in Glasgow, missing celebrations of every description. Whether the behaviour of fans on Saturday contributes to the further spread of Covid variants time and data will tell us. However, most Glaswegians who have obeyed the Government rules for months will not tolerate further level three restrictions for much longer when they see how many pay no respect to rules or guidelines.
Families have longed for the opportunity to get together safely, to visit friends and loved ones in other parts of the UK or to take a short break away in Scotland over the forthcoming holiday weekend. The disappointment of further travel restrictions, no indoor gatherings and loss of business to other parts of the country will be devastating.
Gill Craig, Glasgow.
There is no comparison
IF Mark Smith can’t distinguish between “celebration” and eviction (“Pubs. Protests. And votes. What can reasonable people do about the SNP?”, The Herald, May 15), his claim to reasonableness falls flat. On the one hand the “celebration” by Rangers supporters was blighted by violence, sectarianism and vandalism – the clean-up is still ongoing. The police were given an impossible task.
On the other hand, the peaceful protest at Kenmure Street was resolved without violence, sectarianism or vandalism. It was well managed by police officers who have no powers in immigration law. The Scottish Government has no powers in relation to immigration law. The Home Office has no obligation to tell the Scottish Government or Police Scotland what its plans might be. To plan a deportation raid in this manner was utterly irresponsible. The Scottish Government’s response to both situations was proportionate and reasonable.
I hope Mr Smith will reflect carefully on his irresponsible musings.
Stuart Chalmers, Jackton.
Mob rule 1, Rule of law 0
AS a former resident of Pollokshields, I was interested in both the coverage by the media and the subsequent article by Martha Vaughan (“Police release detained men after hundreds block immigration van”, The Herald, May 14) and the clutch of letters (May 15).
Perhaps it is a sign of the times that in the broadcasts no voice could be heard in support of the officers of the Border Protection Agency.
Much was said of the fact that because it was the end of Ramadan and the beginning of the Festival of Eid no action should have been taken. Indeed, it was not clear that the two men were followers of Islam. My first thought was that the rule of law has been superceded by the power of not just the Muslim faith, but any faith.
Having spent some years in the subcontinent I reflected that, if I transgressed, would my plea that it was Advent, Easter, or any other special day of obligation of my faith be sufficient to escape arrest?
The police no doubt were in a quandary. It must have been clear to them that despite the fact they cordoned off many streets away from the incident they were not going to win. Perhaps the fact that with the new Indian variant of Covid rampant, the thought of even more people gathering en masse swayed their decision.
Mob rule 1, Rule of Law, 0.
The way the politicians both national and local reacted was a disgrace. Everything now appears to be politically vote-orientated. Little thought was given to supporting the staff of the Border Protection Agency even to the smallest degree, those tasked to do their actual job. Rather they were subjected to ridicule and abuse. Apparently they should now consult a calendar to ensure that the date of suggested arrest does not conflict with any special holy days of worship of any religion. Robin Johnston, Newton Mearns.
The irony of Kenmure Street
THE protests seen at Kenmure Street were illogical, self-serving and politically motivated.
Whether one is subject to UK immigration policy (as a reserved matter) or any other immigration policy there are always going to be breaches of said policy. There will be appeals, some successful, some not. But there will always exist a requirement for a remedy to deal with unsuccessful applicants, who having exhausted the legal route, refuse to leave. There is no fit-forpurpose immigration policy which could operate successfully without recourse to the removal of failed applicants.
The tragic irony of the scenes and chants of “racists” is that Kenmure Street was the location of the 2004 terrifying abduction and murder of 15-year-old, Kriss Donald. Three of the suspects fled to Pakistan and Strathclyde Police sought an extradition order for their return. The men were eventually arrested by British police in Pakistan, unhindered by the local Pakistani population.
They were brought home to Scotland to face trial and subsequently found guilty. Justice was delivered to the local community – potentially the same local community which took the law into its own hands last week to interfere in due process, without being in possession of the full facts and circumstances, instead acting on their own prejudices. Sheila Mechan, Bearsden.