Readers' Letters: Leitch deserves thanks for keeping Scotland calm

I am sure I speak for many when we remember the confident, caring and practical advice delivered every day to us by Professor Jason Leitch. Along with First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, the daily briefing was essential viewing for us all during the Covid pandemic. I for one believe they both did a brilliant job.

Readers’ Letters: Leitch deserves thanks for keeping Scotland calm

Let us consider those times. We had been told that a lethal germ was transmitting fast and no cure was available. People were terrified, death was looming, no antidote as yet. What were we all to do? Some jumped in mobile homes and raced to all points of the compass, hiding near crofts and desolate beaches. These were just some of the reactions to this deadly unknown virus.

Jason Leitch kept, as they say in Aberdeenshire, a calm sooch, never faltering, and delivered the very best of reassuring advice that kept us abreast of the fast moving situation this deadly virus had brought.

I do not believe we as a nation could have had a safer pair of hands to guide us. Deleted WhatsApps are simply not the issue. Let us give credit where it is due and salute Prof Leitch and give thanks that we had both him and Nicola Sturgeon keeping a steady hand on the tiller through such turbulent waters.

Michael Campbell, Conon-Bridge, Highland

No conspiracy

Can we please stop this ludicrous argument over who typed what on WhatsApp? The holier than thou attitude of many of the commentators on the Covid Inquiry reveals a sickening hypocrisy in their desperation to find a smoking gun.

Let’s try to learn lessons from an entirely unprecedented situation and try not to let it happen again. There’s no evidence that there was some sort of conspiracy going on. Everyone was doing their best to resolve a desperate problem, with literally no experience of such an event.

Brian Bannatyne-Scott, Edinburgh

Figure it out

Once again Mary Thomas writes that Scotland had “significantly lower death rates” in the Covid pandemic than England (Letters, 24 January). But there are many uncertainties both around diagnosis and recording practices within the UK (and indeed in other countries) so, for example, deaths “with” and “from” Covid are interchanged.

Hence it is now accepted that a better measure compares excess deaths, such as the UK ONS age-related statistics showing that from January 2020 to June 2022 Scotland had excess deaths of 0.2 percentage points fewer than England, at 3.0 per cent v 3.2 per cent, ie 6.25 per cent “better”.

However, Scotland has five towns with more than 100,000 people, widely separated apart from Glasgow and Motherwell, versus more than 70 in England, largely concentrated in the Midlands-Lancashire-West Yorkshire area. Nor do we have anything remotely comparable with Greater London’s 7-8million.

Moreover, we have nothing like the number or concentration of ethnic minorities who, sadly, seemed more susceptible to Covid (whether by their ethnicity itself or greater prevalence of three generations of a family living together).

So one would reasonably expect a much higher “success rate” than only 6.25 per cent, which may well require further revision. The zealots on both sides should “haud their wheesht” until the public inquiries are complete – and maybe even until the NHS returns to its pre-Covid state in terms of delayed operations and so forth.

John Birkett, St Andrews, Fife

Inappropriate

It is entirely wrong that Devi Sridhar, Professor of Global Public Health at the University of Edinburgh, experienced racism, sexism, and death threats while advising Nicola Sturgeon during the Covid pandemic. It’s also utterly inappropriate for Sridhar, whose statements should have been confined to public health matters, to make political comments of any kind – yet she chose to do so.

At the height of the pandemic in 2020, on Twitter, she labelled pro-UK unionists as “anti-Scottish”. Plus, she repeatedly drew inappropriate non-clinical comparisons between the Westminster government and Holyrood administration, expressing overt anti-Tory comments and making it more than implicitly clear that she supports an independent Scotland.

So it’s arguably unsurprising that Sturgeon chose Sridhar over Hugh Pennington, an emeritus professor of bacteriology at the University of Aberdeen and a globally recognised expert in the control of viral disease. You see, Pennington, who made clear at the time his willingness to help, is a pro-UK supporter.

Martin Redfern, Melrose, Roxburghshire

Wrong choice?

It seems Prof Jason Leitch’s efforts at the Covid Inquiry could be best summarised as “I’m not a doctor, I was just there to communicate what others told me.”

This seems completely at odds with my recollections. Then, he seemed to be showboating, including appearing on football talk shows, and being generally authoritative, while milking the gravely serious Inquiry for every ounce of personal advancement that could be had.

It made me think again of the eminently qualified, perhaps uniquely qualified, Professor Hugh Pennington, who was a doctor and, in our midst, but was not asked to take part, presumably because he had regularly deigned to criticise the SNP administration.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh

Blame Westminster

Is it just coincidence that while Scotland’s recent economic growth has been disappointing, UK economic growth has been stagnant and, according to the LSE Centre for Economic Performance the UK “has now seen 15 years of economic decline”?

Is it just coincidence that price rises and mortgage repayments have risen significantly in Scotland and throughout the UK to a much greater extent than was experienced by many of our European neighbours?

Is it just coincidence that councils in Scotland are struggling to fund local services while many councils in England have already declared bankruptcy?

Is it just coincidence that while Scotland’s PISA rankings have fallen (while other more broad assessments have indicated higher attainment levels), UK rankings have dropped significantly during more than a decade of austerity?

Is it just coincidence that while waiting times at Scottish NHS hospitals have recently reached record highs, NHS hospitals in England are not only experiencing record waiting times but are failing across a wide range of measures?

Is it just coincidence that Scotland and the rest of the UK still have among the lowest state pensions in Europe, in spite of Scotland’s huge oil, gas and renewable energy resources?

Is it just coincidence that while poverty readily evidenced by increasing homelessness and use of foodbanks continues to blight Scotland (in spite of measures introduced by the Scottish Government particularly aimed at reducing child poverty), the UK poverty level, which according to the Joseph Rowntree Foundation is higher in England and Wales, is deepening further as the wealth gap continues to spiral?

Perhaps someone who writes to these pages and continues to argue for sustaining the constitutional status quo – which is betraying people across these islands morally, democratically and economically – can explain all these “coincidences”.

Or are they content to simplistically blame the Scottish Government for all Scotland’s woes despite the perverse devolution arrangements of a terminally failing Union?

Stan Grodynski, Longniddry, East Lothian

Spread the word

It was interesting and pleasing to read that Kaye Adams had such prompt and “absolute amazing” treatment in her visit to A&E in Glasgow (your report, 22 January). Her BBC colleague, Glenn Campbell, also recently spoke of the excellent treatment he received from NHS Scotland. I seem to recall a number of other Scottish journalists who have been moved to express their own thanks for care they have received.

While these accounts from personal experiences are all very gratifying, I’m somewhat puzzled and concerned as to why this positivity does not seem to be reflected in our news media’s daily output.

George Campbell, Edinburgh

Swiss miss

I was born in Scotland and lived there for 37 years but due to my job with the Royal Bank of Scotland ended up in Switzerland in 1989. I have lived there ever since.

I have followed British and Scottish issues continually. I am and will always be British and Scottish. I have always resented not being able to vote in my home country. If I were an American or Swiss citizen I would always have that right. I have a UK pension, I have paid my share of National Insurance and tax and should not be deprived of my right to vote in UK elections. It is my democratic right.

John Read, Switzerland

Fired up

Canadian man Brian Pare has just been found guilty of starting 14 wildfires in Quebec. The fires happened in June last year. As in similar cases this is not being reported on the television news.

Instead we’re told that wildfires are caused by our petrol cars, by our gas heating and by that flight we took to Spain, and we must take these things away from you.

Geoff Moore, Alness, Highland

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