LABOUR Councillor Alex Gallagher (Letters, July 1) can rest assured that the SNP does not want to keep the English out of Scotland, but if visitors from England or from any of the other nations in the UK should unfortunately bring a surge of coronavirus to Scotland, it would be gross negligence to do nothing about it, and Nicola Sturgeon has made it clear that her top priority is public health and safety.

The people most at risk of contracting the virus from tourists would presumably be those who are heavily involved in the tourist industry, such as hotel, shops and visitor attraction workers, and all who live in popular beauty spots, such as seaside towns on the Clyde coast. Given that Councillor Gallagher writes from Largs, I would have expected him to appreciate the First Minister's determination to protect the health and wellbeing of his constituents, along with the rest of the population.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.

MAY I put a question to Alex Gallagher? Let us concoct a fantasy that Labour in Scotland is still a political force of some consequence, and that the Government now sitting in Holyrood is a Labour one. In this fantasy, everything else –Tory government in Westminster with Boris Johnson as Prime Minister, Covid pandemic still very much in being – is the same as today’s actual reality. In such a situation, would Mr Gallagher not expect Scotland’s Labour government to put the case for Scotland’s receiving UK Government funding according to its particular requirements? And if it did so, would he describe this as “begging”?

Derrick McClure, Aberdeen AB24.

ALLAN Sutherland (Letters, July 1) suggests that the First Minister should take a ferry over to Northern Ireland to find out “how they used their shaky devolved powers to overcome what we're told is the biggest crisis to face the UK since 1945.”

Might I suggest one reason, appertaining to geography: that their neighbour (the Republic of Ireland) has suffered 35.2 deaths per 100,000 of their population from Covid-19, compared to the UK’s 65 per 100,00. In contrast, we know that Covid-19 cases in Scotland’s neighbour, England, have been “the worst in Europe, just above Spain”, to quote the BBC on June 29.

Alasdair Galloway, Dumbarton.

IN several letters recently Rev Dr Robert Anderson seems to want to vent a great deal of real anger and anathema towards the First Minister and the Scottish Government in general.

It makes me wonder which Bible he is reading such is the strength of what may be described as his vitriolic prose and sentiments. (For example. Letters June 30).

From a gentleman who is clearly very knowledgeable about the Bible the nature of the prose and sentiments seem very surprising and concerning.

For example such apparent anger is totally negated by John 8 verses 1 to 11 where mercy, grace and forgiveness are seen in abundance.

There may be reasons for Dr Anderson wishing to "cast the first stone", but the Christian ethic teaches the exact opposite of this and we should all try to state our opinion with humility and kindness.

Linda C Park, Stirling.

THE US has bought up most of the coronavirus drug Remdesivir in an "international heist".

As the Westminster regime now aims to secure a great trade deal through the Special Relationship after Brexit, one can now point out to whose sole advantage that will be.

John Edgar, Kilmaurs.