IN an interview with Beth Rigby of Sky News on Monday (March 20), Nicola Sturgeon made that astonishing statement that "I can argue that I was not out of step with the Scottish public on gender reform", when the polls made it clear that two-thirds of Scots were against the Gender Recognition Reform Bill. An incredible denial of the truth by our First Minister.

She went on to say: “There is no other group in society where we take the behaviour of a tiny minority and use it to deny rights to that group." That is plainly untrue.

Because of a "tiny minority" of men who commit crimes against women, for decades now we have had, and rightly so, laws that allowed the creation of safe places for women, the entrance to which was forbidden to all men. As a father and a husband, I am forever grateful for the fact that neither my daughters nor my wife can be harassed or abused verbally or physically by any man while they are in these spaces.

As a man, I accept willingly and wholeheartedly, using Ms Sturgeon's own words, that "the behaviour of a tiny minority (of men) does deny the vast majority of men rights" of access to all these safe-spaces ... for the sake of the women's safety and comfort.

Ms Sturgeon, and those who forced this bill through Holyrood on the whip, including Labour, the Greens, and the Liberal Democrats, are in effect putting at greater risk 50 per cent of our population, our Scottish women. How they cannot see this, and indeed deny it, is beyond shameful. This does not even address the dangers to our younger generation of affirming-transition measures to 16-17-year-olds, who are vulnerable, and who often are suffering from background neurodiverse conditions, or mental illness.

We need politicians, including Humza Yousaf, to admit they are totally out of tune with the Scottish public, and drop this bill. We need politicians who are willing to be honest with us, and not deny the truth.

Alasdair HB Fyfe, Carmunnock.

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SCANDAL OF CARE HOME CHARGES

ISN’T it bizarre that as and when I lose the rest of my marbles and am admitted to hospital it won’t cost me a penny no matter how long I stay there, however the moment I’m discharged into a care home, as was the case with my recently departed mother, it will cost me £60,000 a year to be taken care of? Why is it that an elderly citizen suffering from a debilitating condition they didn’t ask for and who is shortly heading for life’s exit is treated differently from somebody suffering from a disease or medical condition that incapacitates them long-term?

At the first sign of advancing Alzheimer’s, rather than pay my life’s savings to some nursing home I’m going to spend, spend, spend.

David J Crawford, Glasgow.

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REASSURANCE ON OLD STAMPS

NICK Ruane (Letters, March 20) clearly doesn't use our excellent Post Office service very often, or he would know that his inability to post his letter with an out-of-date stamp had no direct connection with the internet.

Post Office staff had leaflets available and publicised from December onwards encouraging customers to post back old stamps to Royal Mail by January 31 and they would be replaced with new ones to the same value. I did so and that procedure went very smoothly. All Christmas stamps and special edition ones issued over the years are still valid. I was pleased to know my long-retained Olympic and more recent National Park stamps could continue to be used for appropriate friends, including stamp collectors, into the future.

Moreover, knowing that stamps go up in price like most things in life these days, I asked my friendly Post Office staff if this was about to happen soon and the reply was in the affirmative. Soon I'll beat April Fool's Day and limit my never-ending cost of living increase by purchasing a quantity of certain stamps in advance at current prices.

None of the above past and future actions involve use of the internet, so I'm grateful to Mr Ruane for encouraging me to confirm that the QR codes he referred to only vary with the new barcode symbols attached to each value of printed stamp.

Mrs F Greenlaw, Balloch.

• NICK Ruane has been misinformed by his Post Office. If you check the Royal Mail site you will see that the validity of these stamps has been extended until July 31, so it is a case of use them or lose them.

Douglas Jardine, Bishopbriggs.

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THE MONEY CARD MADNESS

BYcoincidence, just back from a morning trip to the Post Office, Nick Ruane’s postage stamp travails reinforced my mild disgruntlement.

As the possessor of a Post Office travel money card which I have used successfully for euro transactions abroad for several years, no complaints there, still with credited euros, I assumed I would be able to draw down the remaining euros and pass them on to deserving grandchildren who assure me they have been good boys and girls.

Not so. I was informed by a pleasant and unfailingly-patient counter assistant that the procedure was to convert the euros into sterling, and use the cash to then purchase euros. I suggested that she might be as surprised as myself. To her professional credit she smiled and made no comment.

My understanding is that this would involve two transaction charges.

Due to circumstances I will not require the card abroad again, but could it be cancelled in the Post Office? You guess correctly. Sorry. No.

Is this clumsy, verging on the greedy, or am I missing something?

R Russell Smith, Largs.

SOMETHING FISHY

THE dinosaur currently terrorising the good folk of Cullen ("Monster of a row as giant T-rex head roars into conservation area", The Herald, March 21), may simply be a souped-up variety of skink.

Dr GM Armitage, Glasgow.

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