BBC2 Scotland is to be congratulated on its Sunday night scheduling.

We had a further opportunity to view Anthony Baxter's excellent documentary You've Been Trumped, followed by coverage of the SNP conference, complete with Alex Salmond's risible claim that "what was gained with devolution can only now be guaranteed with independence". The film showed, through the contribution of Paul Cheshire, professor emeritus of economic geography at the London School of Economics, that the Scottish Government is already much more vulnerable to pressure from obnoxious and predatory big business interests than elsewhere in the UK, and that Mr Trump would have been unlikely to have made headway in England.

The only point at issue is whether this is due to the greater susceptibility of small economies to cave in to the illusory gains of such investments as Mr Trump's golf resort, or the personal weakness of the First Minister and his team at Holyrood. In either case, Alex Salmond's claims regarding independence look very threadbare indeed.

Peter A Russell,

87 Munro Road,

Jordanhill,

Glasgow.

I WATCHED with interest Anthony Baxter's documentary. This unashamedly biased film about the impacts on local people of the construction of the Trump International Golf Links on the Menie Estate brought to light many issues that seem to have been swept under the carpet, not only by the Trump Organisation, but by the Scottish Government that should exist to protect residents from acts of mindless environmental vandalism and damage to their own property.

Many would blame Donald Trump for the bulldozing of a unique and dynamic landscape, as well as causing endless stress to the area's residents, but Alex Salmond seems to have avoided much of the media scrutiny. It was Mr Salmond – the area's local MSP (and former MP) – who "called in" the planning application, overturning the original rejection by Aberdeenshire councillors. I would very much doubt that if, for example, a Scottish developer wanted to construct on a massive scale on a landscape such as the Grand Canyon in the US, Barack Obama would be falling over himself to have the project approved for the sake of "sustainable" economic growth.

To place this in a current political context, one has to ask what Scottish independence would bring. Would a Scottish Prime Minister undermine planning laws to suit his own agenda? Would his police force continue to treat residents at such development sites as troublemakers, despite simply standing up for what is their own?

Although much of this story has been out of the news for some time – with the exception of its links with the looming wind farm development off the Menie coastline – it was good to see the topic back in the public eye.

Fraser Russell,

24 Jasmine Way,

Carluke.