Enough is enough: time to crack down on the rioters

As the Cole Porter song said in a much more innocent time, anything goes (now).

The collapse of Christian belief in our country has contributed to the mess we now find ourselves in. Individualism takes precedence over community cohesion so that every person of that mentality is out to get the most for themselves and doesn't care how that prize is won.

Self-discipline has gone by the board to be replaced by the satisfaction of whims and appetites.

Contributory to that state of mind has been the political emphasis upon deregulation, thereby consigning rules to the dustbin of history along with respect for law and order.

As a result anti-social behaviour is visible in the daily dealings our public servants have to endure as they do their level best to perform their duties in patrolling the streets, fighting fires, teaching our kids and treating patients.

Those self-same miscreants have jumped on the issue of the Southport child killings, using that disgusting episode as an excuse to vent their hatred against community cohesion.

From the news footage we are all exposed to, we can see that the rioters enjoy challenging the boys in blue, taunting them and trying to do them physical harm, no matter the cost this creates for our public services.

Hatred is at the core of such reprehensible and unforgivable conduct.

The Government must clamp down on the rioters to prevent the anarchy which will otherwise prevail on our streets.

Who would disagree with the deployment of extremely cold water cannon by the police to drench the rioters and to stain them with an indelible dye so that they could not deny their malevolent presence at such riots?

We are coming close to the imposition of martial law if those riots continue to burgeon as they look so much like doing.

It is time the rioters were dealt a short, sharp shock to make them come to their senses.

Denis Bruce, Bishopbriggs.

Policing is not consistent

IN the firm response to this week’s riots, are we seeing the Labour Party becoming a party of law and order ("Name and shame rioters PM says amid bid to crack down on disorder", heraldscotland, August 5)? Will the next group of statute-toppling race-grifters be dealt with severely? Will the prosecution of the next ambulance-blocking eco-loonies be expedited? Will prison spaces be made available for the next ethnic minority rioters?

I fear that to ask these questions is to answer them. There is no chance that the Labour Government will adopt a consistently firm approach to dealing with all rioters, thugs and political extremists.

It will be one law for white working-class wrongdoers and an altogether different one for dealing with crimes by members of approved groups. Nothing could be more destructive of respect for the law and the peace of our society.

Otto Inglis, Crossgates, Fife.

• GOOD to see our Prime Minister speaking out with such conviction and authority about the unacceptability and consequences of the horrific Islamophobic violence in many parts of England.

Just a pity Sir Keir has singularly failed to show the same moral outrage about the slaughter of 40,00 trapped and defenceless Palestinians , 69% of whom are women and children.

The indefensible hypocrisy of this "Labour Friend of Israel" was underlined by his defence of the deprivation of water and electricity as legitimate tactics of war against the citizens of Gaza.

Douglas Simpson, Fortrose.

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Why Scotland has escaped

UK and foreign media reports refer to "'UK uprisings". But one nation isn't experiencing these uprisings: Scotland.

Why not?

First is identity. A 2011 survey found that Muslims in Scotland are more likely to identify as Scottish than Muslims in England are to identify as English. A 2005 study noted: "It was widely acknowledged and appreciated that compared with other parts of the country, especially England, Scotland was a tolerant place."

Second, Scots have consistently demonstrated support for the Palestinian people against whom Israel is committing a genocide. In 2016, the Green Brigade, known for their Irish republicanism and support for Palestinians, along with other Celtic fans, raised £175,000 for a football team in Aida refugee camp in the occupied West Bank. The money was raised to defy a Uefa fine on Celtic club when Palestinian flags were waved at a game against the Israeli club Hapoel Be'er Sheva.

Third, mosques in Scotland don't have radical preachers. One reason is Scotland's Muslim community come from more middle class and educated backgrounds than their UK counterparts. Thirty-eight per cent of Muslims in Scotland are educated to degree level or above compared to a UK average of 27%.

This is also reflected in the Scottish prison population where 1.8% is Muslim, consistent with the 1.45% of Scotland's Muslim population, whereas 13% of England's prison population is Muslim, double the 6.5% English Muslim population.

Finally, national governance matters. In 2015 a young Scottish Muslim wrote: "… political grievances at home are a major factor in radicalising young people, from perceived western imperialism and bias towards Israel. While these issues are not exclusive to England, the Scottish government seems more supportive of the Muslim perspective. During the bombing of Gaza last year [2014], Holyrood was quick to condemn Israel, whereas Cameron came to Israel's defence."

Leah Gunn Barrett, Edinburgh.

Call them what they are

IN Germany in the 1930s Nazi thugs, urged on by their political leaders, violently targeted an ethnic minority group: Jews. The end result was the Holocaust.

Today in parts of the UK Nazi thugs, urged on by their political leaders, are violently targeting an ethnic minority group: Muslims.

Is it not about time that we stopped calling this bunch of thugs and their political supporters “the far right”, which puts them on a political spectrum? Why don’t we start calling them what they really are: Nazis?

David Howie, Dunblane.

Starmer off to a terrible start

IN a crowded field of those claiming the title of Britain's Worst Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer seems to be in the running after only a few weeks in the job. Already he has caused oil producers to flee the North Sea, has cut winter fuel payments, is likely to cancel infrastructure projects such as the planned dualling of the A66 from Scots Corner to Penrith and the A1 to Berwick, has cancelled the Rwanda scheme, and allowed illegal migration to continue, and actually increase.

He has also branded everyone attending protests against the murder of three children as "right-wing thugs". Some are but the majority aren't, and his tough-on-crime while ignoring the causes of crime will provoke a backlash. Like Humza Yousaf, Keir Starmer has got off to a bad start. I fear his tenure as leader may be as short.

William Loneskie, Lauder.

Keir Starmer (Image: PA)

Not so welcoming

I NOTE Jamie Stone’s article for Unspun (“Hope for Liberals on pages of book published in 1935”, The Herald, August 2).

It was all on brand for a politician who has held elected office at council, Holyrood or Westminster almost continuously over the last 30 years. No headlines nor “hot takes” here.

It made his Facebook post (July 10) celebrating that election win in the immediate aftermath all the more startling.

In a video showing him taking the oath to the King, the accompanying text states his views on the electorate in crystal clear fashion. In the post, Mr Stone portrayed the Highland’s “Liberal tradition” as “open-minded and welcoming” - before Mr Stone continued by referring to “Nationalists” as a “scourge” to be “wiped from these parts”.

Do we think this means his notorious hail-fellow-well-met persona is only extended to unionist voters?

Whilst this hardly strikes me as very “open-minded” or “welcoming”, I wonder if Mr Stone has a plan for delivery of such drastic rhetoric? Perhaps he is looking to recoup some of the money the last government sent to Rwanda by banishing the SNP and other pro-indy voters to the African nation in penance for our membership of the “scourge”?

Perhaps I better make sure I get my blue passport at the ready alongside my sunscreen if this “Highland Liberal tradition” is to be followed through. I had thought he meant the one embodied by Charles Kennedy - much invoked by the Lib Dems in this campaign - but this rhetoric smacks more of Braverman and Badenoch if actions are to fit the words.

Rebecca Machin, Edderton, Ross-shire.