Marriage is not to be sneered at

death rate per thousand in the UK, only a very few would suggest Ms Sturgeon (and her largely invisible colleagues) don’t care nor aren’t trying. But Ms Sturgeon must accept that, in these exceptional times with so many dying in Scotland, it’s imperative those who speak on our behalf have the right to do so freely and frequently.

Politicians and journalists must be able to question, challenge, disagree, proffer alternative solutions, and make positive or negative criticism of the administration responsible for attempting to control the infection and death rate. Ms Sturgeon, this is how a healthy democracy functions – please respect that.

Martin Redfern Edinburgh only ones in Europe still on lockdown: through the week only pensioners turn up to play.

Now one of our leading public health experts has told her that “Shielding only works in models, not in real life, where healthy and vulnerable are integrated in households and communities. No Asian nations which have effectively tackled the disease have ever used shielding as a policy”.

But I must warn Edinburgh University’s Professor Sridhar that we are obsessed with computer models, whether in climate change or medical outcomes. In fact, anyone quoting observations in nature or in populations will eventually be denounced as a “denier” and lose her research award. Rev Dr John Cameron

St Andrews

Gentleman of Corona” was never commissioned.

John V Lloyd Inverkeithing

AS a Christian, I agree heartily with Neil Mackay (We Betrayed one great generation, The Herald on Sunday, March 10) on nearly everything, except his middle-class sneer at marriage.

Surveys indicate cohabiting parents account for a fifth of couples with children, but a half of family breakdown (Millenium Cohort/ONS); 92% of parents still together by a child’s 15th birthday are married (British Household Panel), who also report higher self-esteem among teens in families with married parents; 32% of teens with unmarried parents display mental health problems, compared with 22% with married (Millenium Cohort).

We are also in danger of betraying the next generation.

Bob Philip

Falkirk