YOU suggest that the inability of the Salmond inquiry to hold the Government to account might be due to some structural imbalance in the devolutionary set-up ("We must ensure a mess like this never happens again", The Herald, February 27). However, it is worth considering that the rules worked well enough when two Labour First Ministers and a Conservative leader resigned for relatively minor offences compared to the moral quagmire that has been revealed by the Salmond court cases and the inquiry. Maybe it is just the SNP that ignores the rules. After all, it has previous in lying to Parliament on legal advice and in ignoring the people's verdict in the 2014 referendum.

As polls show support for independence falling back it would be ironic if the SNP was brought down by its own arrogance and a vicious civil war, when its real crime against Scotland is the total incompetence with which it has all but destroyed our education, health, transport and other public services. Isn't it time for Scotland to be governed by politicians who are focused on the real issues and not distracted by fantasies of destroying the UK or hampered by their own inability to engage with the real problems faced by real Scots in the real world?

Alex Gallagher, Labour councillor, Largs.

SHOW US THE LEGAL ADVICE

WITH the pantomime season in full swing at Holyrood, accusations and counter-accusations flying in all directions, it is well to remember that the issue could be resolved very simply. If the Scottish Government released the legal advice it received in relation to Alex Salmond's judicial review, it would be crystal clear whether it was following an impartial process or pursuing a vendetta against him. Twice parliament has voted for the advice to be published and twice John Swinney has declined to follow the will of parliament.

You do not have to be a conspiracy theorist to conclude that the Government was advised that Mr Salmond would win but chose to defend its position anyway, costing the taxpayers more than half a million pounds in the process. There can be only one motive for such behaviour.

Scotland is now making international headlines but not in a good way. The fact that the head of our prosecution service is a political appointee is a serious blot on our liberal democratic credentials. The Scottish Government ignoring the will of parliament has further damaged our reputation. Show us the legal advice and let's get this damaging farce over with.

Carole Ford, Glasgow.

THIRST FOR VENGEANCE

FINALLY, Alex Salmond had his chance to make his complaint in front of the committee on the Scottish Government handling of harassment complaints. It all amounted to hours of ranting by the vengeful former First Minister, who is clearly out for blood.

Of particular note to me was his response to the question from Alex Cole-Hamilton, who asked Mr Salmond: “Of the behaviours that you have admitted to, some of which are appalling, are you sorry?” He declined to apologise while under oath and on record. That says a lot to me about the man, his ego and his disrespect of the complainants.

Mr Salmond presented himself as judge, jury and executioner proclaiming heads should roll – the SNP chief executive, Lord Advocate and Permanent Secretary were all selected by him for the chop – with the collateral damage no doubt being the impact of all of this on the recent great strides by the SNP towards independence. It all felt wrong when at the core of all of this is the inappropriate behaviour of Mr Salmond, who said at his criminal trial that he should have been “more careful with people’s personal space”.

The committee must not be distracted by politics and remain focused on the nine complainants who were let down, on why inappropriate behaviour was allowed to persist in the first instance and ensure that its employees will be properly protected from powerful people in the future.

Paul Morrison, Glasgow.

STURGEON IS NOW TOXIC

THE SNP's plans for independence are dead, following Alex Salmond’s credible diatribe against the current SNP Government. Yes, Nicola Sturgeon will survive due to her loyal cabal of fanatical supporters, but she will have lost the trust and confidence of that significant group of sensible floating voters upon whom she was dependent to get a 50 per cent majority in any new independence referendum.

Ms Sturgeon is now toxic for the long-term future of the SNP, and the senior party hierarchy should realise this and take action as soon as possible. Scotland has a bright future as part of the Union or as an independent state, but this will not happen with the current leadership.

Ian Forbes, Glasgow.

IT'S NOT SO SHOCKING

YOU report today that Alex Salmond found text messages obtained by prosecutors “probably the most shocking thing I have seen in my life”. I hadn’t realised Mr Salmond has led such a sheltered existence. I can think of a number of things that have shocked me profoundly: as a boy, TV reports on the civil war and famine in Biafra in 1968, with the dreadful pictures of kwashiorkor; as an RAF officer, witnessing famine in Ethiopia in 1984; and as a pilot, seeing film of two aircraft flying into the twin towers in New York in 2001.

Somehow a tale of cock-ups and political shenanigans has been elevated into something supposedly earth-shattering. However, on hearing Mr Salmond’s statement to the inquiry, all I could think of was Kenneth Williams in Carry on Cleo: “Infamy, infamy, they’ve all got it in for me”.

Dough Maughan, Dunblane.

* NOTICE spotted, taped to the front door of the Scottish Parliament building: Situation Vacant: Augean Stables. Cleaner required. Apply within.

Alastair Patrick, Paisley.

* HAVING watched Alex Salmond appear at the inquiry, it is now clear that Alex Cole-Hamilton doesn't have the fundamental credentials to join the committee at my local tennis club.

Laurence Wade, Ayr.

I FEAR FOR THE DESTITUTE

KEVIN McKenna ("Salmond/Sturgeon sideshow betrays our poorest children", The Herald, February 27) reminds us that “the list of Covid iniquities disproportionately visited upon poorer households reaches into all aspects of their lives” while Catriona Stewart ("Be wary of trying to guess what ‘ordinary people’ think", The Herald, February 26) suggests that “some people will have new-found understanding of hardship; others won’t give two hoots”.

I am disappointed that Dr Susan Brown’s Agenda article ("Do we have the courage to share our vaccines?", The Herald, February 24) passed without comment from your readers. She revealed that “the combined wealth of the world’s 10 richest men rose by £400 billion during the pandemic – enough to prevent all the world from falling into poverty because of the virus and pay for vaccines for all”.

I therefore join Malcolm Allan (Letters, February 25) in asking “does anyone care?” and while agreeing very much indeed with the generality of Doug Maughan’s concerns as expressed in his letter headed “A question of priorities” (February 25) I am not at all not convinced it is entirely the fault of “the media and governments”.

Since the issue of poverty, globally and nationally, seems to be low in the priorities of voters it is in the nature of things that it will be low in the concerns of most politicians. Nevertheless I am offered some hope, and someone to vote for, by the statement of the new leader of the Scottish Labour Party that “with rising injustice, inequality and division, I’m sorry we haven’t been good enough”.

The SNP will point out the steps its has taken to deal with inequality but I fear for the destitute members of society who will suffer in the inevitable financial turmoil which would follow independence, the campaigners for independence having failed to address this issue.

John Milne, Uddingston.

CLARITY FROM THE FIRST MINISTER

I NOTE Ray Marshall's letter (February 27) supporting Boris Johnson's plans for ending lockdown.

Mr Marshall makes it clear that he supports the Prime Minister's actions and words, as a Scot living in England. However, a majority of Scots living in Scotland have the mental clarity to work out that a serial liar, who prorogues Parliament, breaks international law and can't manage without the support of advisers who don't follow his own lockdown rules, can't be trusted on anything emerging from his mouth. Whereas Nicola Sturgeon gives explicit, understandable, guidance in her briefings every day.

Whether he understands the difference in meaning between dates and data, Mr Johnson is still incompetent, and not fit for leadership of a menage.

Margaret Forbes, Kilmacolm.

Read more: Political agenda on the inquiry is not best serving the voters of Scotland