THE latest attack on the BBC by Nadine Dorries might well be a deflection tactic in defence of her boss, but it displays a lot more about the lack of vision and political ineptitude, not to say downright stupidity, of our current Westminster Government.

Barely a day passes without reference to Global Britain and our brave new leadership role post-Brexit, but if you were to ask anyone in the world to name a single institution that represents the best of Britain the BBC would be right at the top of the list.

Other insomniacs like me will be aware of the range of quality broadcasting, often on crucial topics like women's rights, democracy and political oppression worldwide, that is available between 1am and 5.30 am on the Radio 4 channel when it switches to the BBC World Service. It is perhaps the only area in which the Global Britain boast actually holds true, and yet the right-wing of the Tory Party would destroy it to secure their dream of a Singapore on Thames.

There is not much to be proud of in the UK as far as I am concerned, but the BBC is certainly one, and I can put up with any amount of celebrity-come-cake-cooking while singing and dancing on ice, as long as I can have David Attenborough, Professor Brian Cox and Jim Al-Khalili from time to time.

John Jamieson, Ayr.

* AS a supporter of self-government for Scotland, I regard the BBC with many reservations. The BBC has never allocated to Scotland its proper quota of funding, and it is obviously not neutral on the question of independence. Nevertheless I am in favour of a Scottish public service broadcaster, separated from government and regulated by proper standards of ethical journalism.

I have some sympathy for the employees of Pacific Quay, who appear to have little or no autonomy. That the Tories dislike the BBC is obvious, and a “Fox News”-type clone would be more to their liking. The Labour Party also had a very close relationship with Rupert Murdoch, so the future of public service broadcasting, if left to these two parties, looks bleak.

GR Weir, Ochiltree.

TORIES DESERVE BORIS JOHNSON

I WAS struck by the letter from T J Dowds (January 15) stating that it is “unfair” to condemn so-called “decent Tories” who voted to make Boris Johnson Prime Minister. There is a famous saying which notes “fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me”.

Those Tory supporters who backed the Conservatives at the last General Election were well aware of his character as being a liar and a philanderer, well before “partygate”. However, they were still more than happy to support him at the ballot box. Leopards don’t change their spots so, like Donald Trump, one wonders what these individuals somehow expected to happen when he was in Downing Street?

Mr Johnson has been sacked from a newspaper for lying in an article he wrote and as a Conservative shadow minister for lying about an affair. This is only the tip of the iceberg, and his public and private life is littered with a litany of lies he has told, all very well documented. Yet, despite this, he was elected as leader of the Conservative Party and ultimately as Prime Minister with a not-inconsiderable majority.

It is oft quoted that “the government you elect is the government you deserve”. Those complicit in elevating Mr Johnson to the role as Prime Minister of the UK, well aware of his character, may want to take some time to pause and reflect on whether this is truly the outcome they wanted. For those in Scotland the simple question I pose is: “is this really the best we can do?”

Alex Orr, Edinburgh.

PM NEEDS TO SHOW SHAME

WHEN it comes to the record of an individual as slippery as Boris Johnson, I am afraid that “sorry” doesn’t mend it.

Mr Johnson needs to demonstrate unequivocally that he is ashamed. Ashamed of telling lies to the British people (and arguably also to the Queen and to Parliament); ashamed at evading the truth whenever this is uncomfortable for him; and ashamed at the damage he has done to this country, not least over cynically entering into an international agreement on the Irish Protocol, and which he knew from the start was unworkable – simply to “get Brexit done”. A classic case, like everything else, of contemptuously cutting the Gordian knot.

Only by properly acknowledging guilt and by making amends, if this is now even possible, can he be forgiven and escape being deservedly renowned as the worst prime minister in living, and possibly national, memory.

Robert Bell, Cambuslang.

TIME FOR A NEW LEADER

I WAS not keen on Boris Johnson becoming Prime Minister. I voted not to leave Europe. I am a lifelong unionist and, in 2014, voted for Scotland to remain in the Union. I have also continued, like many of us in Scotland, to stand up for Mr Johnson over the past couple of years as our elected leader, despite his obvious faults.

Douglas Ross decided last week to call him out. He did so because it is patently obvious to most of us up here that having Mr Johnson in charge will make winning another referendum in the near future almost impossible, especially with people like Jacob Rees-Mogg making derisory comments about Mr Ross.

I feel that Mr Ross made the wrong call in going public on his wish to see Mr Johnson go, but the response from Mr Rees-Mogg, the Leader of the House, demonstrates extremely poor judgment at such a critical time for the Union. Although it will not affect how I vote in another referendum, there are tens of thousands of fellow Scots who have had enough of the shenanigans of Mr Johnson and his entourage and will veer towards voting to leave. The time is right now for a new leader.

WM Allan, Stonehaven.

BLAME SUNAK FOR COUNCIL WOES

WHAT a nerve Miles Briggs and other Tories have on council funding ("Councils across Scotland will be ‘hammered’ by next Budget, Tories claim", The Herald, January 17), as it is Rishi Sunak’s UK Budget that is cutting the Scottish Government’s funding by 5.2 per cent compared to 2021-22, as confirmed by the Scottish Fiscal Commission, yet local authorities are receiving a cash increase of £855 million; although this is largely negated by escalating inflation caused by the UK Government’s failures on Brexit, soaring energy prices and its disastrous handling of Covid.

Even with higher bills, Scottish council tax payers will remain much better off than in England or under Labour-run Wales. In Scotland the average Band D council tax bill is currently £590 lower than in England and £423 lower than Wales. Also, the average water bill is £33 lower in Scotland and the income tax bill for median-waged employees is £14 lower in Scotland under our more progressive system.

Those who think that Mr Sunak will revive the fortunes of the Union are sadly deluded; he broke the Tory promise on the triple lock for state pensions that will deprive our elderly citizens of £520 in 2022 while hiking National Insurance contributions for employers and employees, plus increasing our income tax bills through stealth by not increasing allowances in line with inflation.

Mary Thomas, Edinburgh.

FRANCE SHOWS THE WAY ON ENERGY

FRENCH President Emmaneul Macron just ordered EDF, the state energy company, to cap electricity prices to shield consumers. He can do this because the state owns 80 per cent of the shares in the company that supplies the majority of power to French consumers.

Contrast that with the UK, where since the 1980s the Government has sold off our energy resources (as well as National Grid, water, rail, buses, ports, and telecoms) to private companies. EDF is one of the foreign companies that bought a chunk and now owns more than 10% of UK electricity production. Another 30% is owned by German, Spanish and Dutch companies. Privatisation of our national assets has been a colossal failure for consumers and the environment, but a huge boon to private shareholders and company CEOs.

As a result, UK consumers are looking at increases of 50% once the price cap is lifted in April. Ofgem, the energy regulator, must by law pass on rising costs to consumers.

This will be especially painful for Scottish consumers. We already pay the highest transmission charges in the UK while England and Wales get a subsidy. Plus, Scottish gas production is 82% of total UK production. And we’re just eight per cent of the population. What would this gas be worth if Scotland had control over its own energy resources? At least £22.5 billion, the sales value of Scottish oil and gas production in 2019.

And London tells us we’re too wee and poor to go it alone.

Leah Gunn Barrett, Edinburgh.

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