What will it take for UK party leaders to call for a Gaza ceasefire?

The horrific images of the suffering from Gaza have shocked the world. Israel finds itself increasingly isolated by the international community. And yet the government of Benjamin Netanyahu seems oblivious to pressures for a ceasefire. And at what cost? The deliberate bombing and shelling of innocent men, women and children; the destruction of their hospitals and the failure to ensure access to food, water and fuel are surely war crimes as is the forced uprooting of people from their homes to what are supposed to be places of safety but which clearly are not. How many more must be killed for Israel to achieve its stated war aims? And after trashing Gaza, what next for the suffering Palestinians? Is Mr Netanyahu’s real ambition to see Israel extended "from the river to the sea"? What does it take for those political leaders who are in denial to accept the evidence of what is happening in plain sight?

Perhaps now the UK political party leaders will add their voices to that of the SNP in demanding an immediate, unconditional ceasefire and campaign for international sanctions to be imposed to bring the Israeli government to its senses.

Eric Melvin, Edinburgh.

Serious questions on EU funding

AS a net contributor to the EU during its membership, one would have expected any monies the UK received back from Brussels in the form of grants and the like to be welcomed with open arms and utilised down to the very last euro. Not so it seems, at least in respect of some structural and investment funding allocated to Scotland and designed to help the nation's poorest which the SNP claims to need the most support.

It seems perverse that some 28 per cent or almost half a billion pounds of such funding may need to be returned by Scotland to the EU for not being utilised while Northern Ireland may only need to return the much smaller amount of 2% of its funding.

With the state of poverty throughout the UK, it's surely scandalous that there should be any outside funding at all which requires to be returned to source and certainly not the large sum pertaining to Scotland. Were there no relevant projects which benefited the Scottish people to which the Scottish Government could have allocated funding or were the opportunities missed because of incompetence and complacency? Certainly the SNP's habit of blaming Westminster for all of Scotland's woes is wearing a little thin.

Bob MacDougall, Kippen.

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Double standards on campaigning

I SEE that the civil service folk working at the Scottish Government have suspended work on the Holyrood programme for government, with the forthcoming Westminster election as the stated reason.

At the same time, folk across Dumfries and Galloway have been receiving flyers from prospective Tory and Labour MPs as we approach that July 4 General Election and, without fail, those flyers imply apparent action they'll take, as a Westminster MP, on what are actually devolved competencies. typically Scotland's NHS.

As the Tory or the Labour party will either be in government in Westminster after the election, or will be the main opposition party, I hope what they actually mean is that they'll finally change course on the austerity that has crippled public services in England and, as a result, progressively tightened the stranglehold on the available funding to the Scottish Government for those same devolved competencies.

Meanwhile: why are prospective Tory and Labour MPs allowed to campaign on devolved competencies when the Scottish Government isn't allowed to state their own case for those competencies at the same time?

Ian Waugh, Dumfries & Galloway Indy Hub, Dumfries.

Verdict on the big contest

WHAT did we learn from the clash of the Titans live on Tuesday? To begin with, there will have to be rules to prevent the aspiring PMs from talking across one another.

That does not work well for the viewing audience, which resents that type of squabbling which generates heat rather than light, more reminiscent of a stairhead argument than a proper political debate There should surely be available to the officiating presenter a method of muting the offending party's microphone to inhibit such unbecoming interruptions. On Tuesday night, the referee found it difficult to stop the rants of the heckler when his opponent was supposed to have the floor.That was the weaker part of the referee's performance.

We also saw that Keir Starmer is uncomfortable when he has to think on his feet where Rishi Sunak had no qualms about trying to ride roughshod over his quieter opponent.

Both must have been primed for the occasion but both let themselves down, one through his nervousness ,the other with his loud interruptions involving mindless repetitions of the alleged £2,000 charge he claimed his rival would impose upon the working public. Since then it has been made clear that the civil servants, alleged by Claire Coutinho to have signed off that particular tax figure, ha no part in doing such a thing. However, unless an emphasis is put publicly upon this untruth by Ms Coutinho, what will remain fixed in the minds of the electorate is the threat Mr Sunak alleged would be forthcoming from Labour.

To sum up in pugilistic terms, Tuesday night's confrontation saw the desperate Rish Sunak resorting to brawler tactics where Keir Starmer came across as a boxer without a serious punch.

Denis Bruce, Bishopbriggs.

Keir Starmer and Rishi Sunak during the ITV leaders debate on Tuesday (Image: PA)

Unfair on the East End

IN Matthew Lindsay's excellent article ("Council representative insists city disorder is driving away tourists" June 2), MSP John Mason, referencing the recent title celebrations by Celtic fans in the Trongate area seems shocked that "All the major bus routes in the East End of Glasgow were disrupted. They were all stopped for hours". While that was the case may I suggest that Mr Mason prepare himself for further shock this Sunday (June 9) when all major bus routes in the East End of Glasgow" will again be disrupted ,not for a few hours but all day on Sunday as the council have seen fit to close Glasgow Cross to facilitate a cycling event.

This closure, like the numerous others throughout the year for cycling, running, walking events, demonstrations and parades cuts off the East End from the city centre, depriving residents of public transport and, as I recall from my time as the owner of a pub close to the famous Barras market, does untold harm to local businesses.

Local people who resented the council's total disregard for the citizens of the East End would often comment: "Why don't they try shutting down Byres Road or Partick Cross and see how they get on"?

William Gold, Glasgow.

E-scooter mystery

E-SCOOTERS are illegal in Scotland and can only be used on private land with the owner's permission so why are they regularly being seen on Scotland's roads, pavements and public spaces?

E-scooters have been responsible for numerous deaths and injuries in the UK. I submitted a Freedom of Information request to Police Scotland asking 1) How many e-scooters have been confiscated? 2) How many e-scooter riders have been fined? 3) How many e-scooter riders have been taken to court? 4) How many e-scooter riders have been given a police warning?

Police Scotland refused my request saying the cost would be well in excess of the current FoI threshold of £600. The unbelievable excuse was that there are no computer crime classifications specifically for e-scooters. Strange.

Clark Cross, Linlithgow.