WATCHING Allegra Stratton’s lachrymose resignation and doorstep expression of contrition ("Pressure on Johnson as party-row aide resigns", The Herald, December 9), I was reminded of Soviet-style show trials in which enemies of the state hang their heads in shame, and “confess”. Yet her crime is not that in a Downing Street briefing rehearsal she told a lie, but on the contrary that she “corpsed”, came out of role, and told the truth: “What’s the right answer? There was cheese and wine, and no social distancing.”

I do not believe Ms Stratton’s tears were crocodilic. When you are living in a lunatic asylum – the Westminster Bubble – you lose all sense of perspective or proportion. It is the Prime Minister’s expression of “fury” that is pure humbug. Mr Johnson is upset, not because Ms Stratton made light of human suffering, but because she told us there was an illegal gathering at No 10. She told the truth, and that is why he is so angry.

But only the truth will make you free. I doubt if the PM will last the week.

Dr Hamish Maclaren, Stirling.

TORIES MUST SPLIT FROM LONDON

TOM Gordon’s superb critique of Boris Johnson’s manifold inadequacies ("Johnson’s charmed life descending into chaos and squalor", The Herald, December 8) neatly dismantles what little was left of the PM’s reputation. Few Conservative Party members have come forward to speak up in defence of their leader. As Mr Gordon observes even Douglas Ross, the current leader, alongside his predecessor, the elevated Ruth Davidson, have added their voices to the chorus of criticism.

Will their joint distancing result in a rise of support for Scottish Tories? The short answer is no. Not unless and until the Conservative Party in Scotland declares – and I hesitate to use the word – independence from its London base.

Bob Scott, Drymen.

ROSS CANNOT BE TRUSTED

THE recent condemnation by Douglas Ross and a plethora of Tory MSPs of their leader, the Prime Minister, does leave one wondering why they are even members of the Conservative Party.

A man, it seems to me, of few real discernible principles, Mr Ross appears to have more faces than the town clock and changes his tune like the wind. The fact that he is prepared to condemn his own leader over a party the man didn't arrange, and didn't attend, at a time when there are countless serious issues affecting Scots everyday, most of which are caused by this hapless SNP Government, speaks volumes about Mr Ross's integrity and priorities. If he thinks any-fair minded person really cares about a Christmas party that may or may not have happened a year ago, then this shows just how out of touch he is with real people and our concerns for the future. In this case, it really is true that there is much more that unites Mr Ross along with many senior Scottish Tories and the SNP than divides them – a common and undisguised dislike of their Prime Minister. Douglas Ross has again shown voters one thing: he can't be trusted by anyone.

Jamie Black, Largs.

* AT long last, a Scottish Conservative, Douglas Ross, sees what we other Scots have known about the south-east privileged political classes bubble for too many years.

Gaun yersel' son.

Robert Gilmour, Lochwinnoch.

CAN THEY FIND ANOTHER JOHNSON?

ENGLAND is now finding out what most in Scotland have known for years: Boris Johnson is unfit for high office – late to the party, you might say. But is all as it seems?

A slow series of leaks damaging to Mr Johnson have now trickled out, designed it seems to have maximum adverse effect on his public perception. Even Douglas Ross has abandoned him, though Mr Ross seems oblivious to his own financial “misleading of parliament”. With an election a couple of years away, it would be convenient for the Tories to get a new, less extravagant leader in place; though can they find another who will can beguile and dupe voters as Mr Johnson did? Especially as there is a big fiscal reckoning over Brexit and Covid to be had.

GR Weir, Ochiltree.

HISTORY IS REPEATING ITSELF

ALISON Rowat ("Johnson's problem? Look in the mirror, Prime Minister", The Herald, December 9) hits the nail on the head.

It is well documented that Boris Johnson regards Winston Churchill as the epitome of statesmanship and would seek to follow his example; however, contemporary sources reveal the misgivings of fellow Conservatives in 1919.

In A Peace to End All Peace by David Fromkin (pub. Phoenix Press, 2000, p. 385), the following is stated: "A Conservative newspaper commented that 'we have watched his [Churchill's] brilliant and erratic course in the confident expectation that sooner or later he would make a mess of anything he undertook. Character is destiny; there is some tragic flaw in Mr Churchill which determines him on every occasion in the wrong course'."

History repeats.

Maureen McGarry-O'Hanlon, Balloch.

DO NOT FORGET AFGHANISTAN

ROBERT McNeil's Westminster Sketch ("Everyone had a great time at No. 10 party that never was", The Herald, November 9)brilliantly encapsulated the party which if you were there, never happened. I find it very difficult to believe that dozens of people could enjoy a Cheesy Wine party in the Prime Minister's house while he was blissfully unaware of the fact; perhaps he was on a visit to Peppa Pig's World, as truly, the Prime Minister doesn't seem to spend much time in the real world. And now it appears that there were other parties, which shouldn't have been held and presumably they too were also not attended by anyone who was there.

It is no wonder that the public feel exasperated and badly let down by this accident-prone Prime Minister and his Government as they lurch from one sleazy crisis to the next; all those who lost family members and friends on the days when Government staff members were illegally whooping it up must indeed feel deeply hurt and devastated.

However, while it is right and proper that these parties are properly investigated, the allegation that the British Foreign Office abandoned thousands of their Afghan allies to the mercy of the Taliban because of the dysfunctional and arbitrary evacuation that followed the Taliban's return to power must also not be allowed to be forgotten. Both at home and abroad, this shameful Conservative Government continues to let everyone down.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.

WHY WESTMINSTER BEATS HOLYROOD

THE repeated allegations of corruption emanating from Westminster remind me of the SNP’s repeated mantra that the Westminster system is “broken”. To me, this implies the systems in place to prevent things like ripping up the rules to protect an MP or learning about illegal parties in Downing Street are not working properly.

The issue comes when you realise just what actually happened in these cases. The attempt to save Owen Patterson failed because the opposition politicians needed to agree to participate in such a rule change and refused. Similarly, the attempted prorogation of Parliament was stopped by a trip to the Supreme Court. Meanwhile the supposed corrupt or incompetent decisions made by the current Conservative Government – parties in Downing Street, giving PPE contracts to mates, cash for honours to name a few – are known to the public because journalists and parliamentary committees are able to ask questions about them and expect to receive a valid response. This suggests things could be improved but are working decently.

Compare this to the state of affairs at Holyrood. A Holyrood committee investigating a botched response to sexual harassment allegations was repeatedly stonewalled by the Government, even when the opposition parties – including SNP allies the Scottish Greens – voted twice to make it release the information. Freedom of Information requests take months – not weeks – to pass and there is the mysteriously disappearing £600,000 we still do not know what happened to.

Some may say the allegations of corruption from the current Westminster Government eclipse anything the SNP at Holyrood has done, but this is missing the point. The response to the allegations at Westminster show a culture where these things are not tolerated. The same cannot be said about Holyrood.

John Shanks, Glasgow.

EASY TASK FOR THE MET

IN my opinion the question of whether or not there was a party in Downing Street could be easily answered by asking the police officers on duty at the material time, carrying out protection duties within No 10 itself. I’m sure the Metropolitan Police would find carrying out this retrospective inquiry fairly easy, as it only involves interviewing its own officers and it is a straightforward yes or no answer.

David Dawson, Bearsden.

* WITH poor Sir Keir Starmer desperately trying to take the moral high ground and emulate his hero the Rev Tony Blair, I can't decide who he reminds me of most, Don Quixote or Buzz Lightyear.

Colin James, Edinburgh.

Read more: Forget last Christmas. This year will be even worse under the Tories