Brian Wilson’s attack on ‘nasty’ nationalists misses bigger journalistic picture

In his article “‘Right on cue’, Nationalists take offence” (Scotsman, 26 October), Brian Wilson alludes to the article by Peter Oborne on the use of “Downing Street sources” by journalists to faithfully convey government messages.

However, Mr Wilson is so desperate to get to what really matters for him, attacking the SNP, that he fails to give us any ofthesubstanceofmroborne’s views. What could have been an interesting article ends up presenting the kind of deeply distorted slant on a story that Peter Oborne deplores.

Mr Oborne’s exposé deals in critical terms with the issue of allegedly experienced journalists who have apparently become willing stooges uncritically acting as conduits for the increasingly erratic interventions coming from a Dominic Cummings-controlled Downing Street press office.

Mr Wilson has great admiration for Laura Kuenssberg, but Peter Oborne is not so easily impressed, describing her as an “accomplice-journalist”. Brian Wilson, in his haste to expose the “nasty streak in the independence camp” fails to mention that Nicola Sturgeon’s intervention followed a tweet by Laura Kuenssberg in which she blatantly misrepresented the rationale behind the Oliver Letwin amendment. Ms Kuenssberg’s retort at being taken to task of, “Right on cue”, was a petty attempt to deflect criticism.

And when we’re considering what Mr Wilson describes as a “pile-on” to Laura Kuenssberg following criticism of her by the author Val Mcdermid, let’s not forget what happened to the man who confronted Boris Johnson about the hospital treatment for his son after he was identified to her 1.1 million Twitter followers with the comment “Here he is”.

GILL TURNER Derby Street, Edinburgh