Scottish independence won’t rest on Boris - your views

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Scottish independence won’t rest on Boris

If Boris Johnson isn't a complete buffoon, then he does a pretty good impression. Regardless of the rights or wrongs of his visit to Scotland, how did he think it would do any good for the cause of the union if that was his aim?

However, one thing you do have to give his government credit for is procuring mass supplies of the vaccine.

I confess I questioned the point of ordering several 100s of millions of doses at the outset, but see the proactive wisdom of it now.

Making it available proportionately across the nation is one thing you might expect the SNP to even acknowledge if not be thankful for. But no. When Ian Blackford was pressed on this on Channel 4 he simply stone walled and preferred instead to talk about independence - the man the phrase "one track pony" might have been created for.

Clearly nothing Johnson does will be looked on kindly by the SNP, but regarding him as a significant reason for supporting independence is ludicrous.

I will be as happy to see the back of him as the next man - and that is the point. We will indeed see the back of him probably even before the next UK election.

Supporting or opposing a cause simply because of the popularity rating of political leaders is very short term.

Colin Hamilton, Braid Hills Avenue, Edinburgh.

But was Johnson really here after all?

As a paid up conspiracy theorist, I think Nicola Sturgeon is wrong to criticise the prime minister for breaking travel regulations. Who saw him? Half a dozen lab technicians and a couple of soldiers. He could have been anywhere. I don’t believe he came to Scotland at all.

Michael Grey, St Thomas Road, Edinburgh.

Filmhouse could use Princes Street site

Filmhouse certainly needs developing as the current building, while much loved, has become a victim of its own success and will not cope with the future demand after Covid.

However I have great doubts about the proposal for Festival Square. A building that, to me, neither expresses its purpose nor relates to its surroundings.With the demise of large buildings in Princes Street, might there not be an opportunity to re-develop, say, Debenhams into a mixed-use site including Filmhouse, sharing restaurants, retail and display spaces while regenerating a key site in the city.

David Gerrard, Spylaw Park, Edinburgh.

Britain should right wrong of Diego Garcia

In the latest saga over the disputed Chagos Islands in the Indian Ocean, the maritime law tribunal of the United Nations has added its voice to other bodies ruling that Britain has no sovereignty over these.

The UK leveraged the islands from Mauritius in 1965, when it was a British colony, in return for £3 million and, Mauritius claims, independence, only to team up with the US and build a joint military base on Diego Garcia, despite the fact the islands were already inhabited by 1000 Chagossians.

The UK’s plummeting international reputation due to Brexit has been further damaged, with it no longer having a judge on the 14-seat International Court of Justice in The Hague, and UN maps reflect the legal fact that it sees these islands as belonging to Mauritius.

With the UN and International Court of Justice opposing this illegal occupation, the British government must respect the decision and right this wrong.

Alex Orr, Marchmont Road, Edinburgh.