The BBC should admit its mistake and restore health broadcasts to our screens

Through the long months since March, living under the threat of virus infection, a welcome constant for my family and myself, as for many others, has been the daily BBC health broadcasts by the Scottish Government and their excellent health advisers.

These newscasts have been articulate and informative, whilst eschewing controversial politics. They have been especially valuable to older citizens and others such as the deaf and those without access to the internet. The manage - ment of the epidemic to minimise infections and deaths has been about influencing human behaviour through communication, and the standard bearer for this has been the daily BBC broadcast. The broadcasts have been a key tool used by the Government in the ongoing health campaign.

We are now at a difficult stage in the campaign as the easing of the lockdown rules has led to a new rapid growth in the infection rate. It is essential on a day-to-day basis that the population has direct access to changing rules, and to a comprehension of the underlying factors, and hence the daily BBC broadcasts are, if anything, more important now than for some time.

These are perilous times and we are astonished at the decision, to remove the broadcasts. No adequate reason for this has been provided, and their action could quickly become a PR disaster for the

BBC. It has been alleged that the BBC has given in to political pressure, but I am sure that this cannot be true. Our public broadcaster can not have decided that politics is more important than public health.

However, this egregious decision must be reversed. And the BBC should understand that admitting to am istake is a sign of strength, not weakness.

PROF ALAN MURDOCH

St Mary’s Drive, Perth,

Kate Marshall( Letters ,15 September) says older people don’t need to listen to the First Minister’s briefings on coro - navirus because we can access the information from newspapers.

Putting to one side the pre - sumption of speaking for all older people, this is a valid point for those of us who still buy a newspaper.

However, surely the point is to try to ensure the maximum coverage of the required information to the widest spread of the population and her opinion does appear to be eclipsed by more than 53,000 who have signed a petition asking the BBC to continue the broadcasts.

Ms Marshall says she doesn’t watch the briefings because they are “now clearly political in nature” and given by a “partial politician”.

The question is, if she doesn’t watch them how does she know this?

GILL TURNER Derby Street, Edinburgh