Better apart
Victor Clements (Letters, 18 April) says that in the current situation, debating the arguments for and against independence is “pathetic”. He then spends the next few paragraphs extolling the virtues of the Union.
He believes the strategy for dealing with the pandemic is “being fought at UK level “with input from the devolved government. However, it’s hard to retain confidence in the overall strategy when we consider the time wasted in the first two months of the crisis, leading to a situation where there have been in excess of 16,000 deaths and the UK could end up being the worst afflicted country in Europe.
We have a major problem in the UK management of the pandemic as we have a Prime Minister who likes his weekends off and missed five COBRA meetings in the runup to the current crisis. A man who put bravado before sense and put his own life at danger, leaving to deputise, a cabinet which is long on acquiescence, compliance and blind loyalty, but short on competence and experience. Thus we have seen Dominic Raab, looking bewildered and out of his depth. We’ve seen Matt Hancock lose his rag with BBC journalist Nick Robinson. Priti Patel has produced figures on testing which would have baffled Stephen Hawking. And Robert Jenrick, a minister who should have been sacked for flouting social distancing
rules. All appeared in a procession of ministers lacking presence (with the possible exception of Rishi Sunak) who have trooped forward for their moment of fame like a line of Pierrots in a grim end-of-thepier show.
In this febrile context, Scotsman columnist Susan Dalgety says Nicola Sturgeon “suggested” that Scotland was being denied PPE equipment in order to foster “grievance” (Perspective, 18 April). This is
wrong – the FM was reacting to concerns brought to her by the CEO of Scottish Care, Donald Macaskill, and questions put to her by journalists which she undertook to follow up.
GILL TURNER Derby Street, Edinburgh
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