Welcome development

I’VE WRITTEN a number of times criticising the British government’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office for its inadequacy in securing the freedom of Connel ex-paratrooper Billy Irving and the other five British men jailed in India.

So it is welcome news, a number of celebrities have joined the campaign to put pressure on the authorities to do something – anything – to have them returned.

The intervention of Simon Gregson, who stars in Coronation Street, and John Bowe, of Emmerdale fame, brings new momentum to the cause, which can only be a good thing. It is not long ago that Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson pledged to leave ‘no stone unturned’ in his efforts to have the men freed. Since then, though, there has been nothing. Our national leaders should hang their heads in shame.

What do you think? Write to me at mlaing@obantimes.co.uk or The Oban Times, Crannog Lane, Oban, PA34 4HB.