IT does not take anything at all away from the man's achievements, but the claim from several sources that the late Alex Salmond had Scotland on the ''verge of independence" is simply not true.

Given the whole background to the 2014 referendum, it could be argued it was an open goal missed. David Cameron had given away almost everything to the clamouring nationalists. Those who wanted the break-up had every possible advantage. Perhaps the then Prime Minister thought the status quo was untouchable.

The separatists were given the crucial choice of Yes or No; the wording (which today an arbiter would never allow); the inexplicable decision to ban born and bred Scots living temporarily in England (800,000 of them) from voting and at the same time allowing foreigners temporarily resident here to do so; as well the choice of the Bannockburn date.

Add to that a generally fawning media and the arguments of an own goal seem more than plausible. Given their advantages, the separatists should have won with ease, but the great majority of Scots still said No, thanks.

They were hammered by a weakened opponent who had his star strikers out of action. If they could not win with those advantages, they will never win.

Alexander McKay, Edinburgh.

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Hypocritical suggestion

I AM full of respect for the late Alex Salmond but I do think that the idea of spending £600,000 on returning his body to his homeland is going over the top ("Officials in talks aimed at bringing Salmond back to UK", The Herald, October 15). As well as highlighting how hypocritical this Government is, once again it illustrates the SNP’s total lack of appreciation of the value of money.

Knowing how meticulous Mr Salmond was in dealing with his own affairs I would be surprised if he didn’t have travel insurance in place which would cover such an eventuality.

Alan McGibbon, Paisley.

Let clubs honour Salmond

FURTHER to Matthew Lindsay’s article ("The First Minister who loved sport til his last", Herald Sport, October 14) and having stood to pay respect to several people who had absolutely nothing to do with Scottish football, it would be appropriate for the SPFL/SFA to request that all clubs observe a minute’s applause this weekend for arguably the greatest-ever First Minister, particularly given Alex Salmond’s long-term association with the Tartan Army and as a genuine football supporter.

Fraser Grant, Edinburgh.

The principle of sharing

ON BBC Radio 4's Today programme, celebrity separatist and Nicola Sturgeon's pal, Val McDermid, regurgitated an intriguing, if wholly inaccurate, nationalist urban myth that a Scottish wind farm exclusively powers Canary Wharf. Utter nonsense, but I guess she has a nationalist drum to try to beat. However, what seems more unacceptable is the broader agenda implied in her interview. The gist of Ms McDermid's narrative appears to me that it's wrong that our lovely gusts of Scottish wind should be used to power England's nasty financial services in faraway London.

In the UK, we have a single market based on the basis of sharing and distributing; perhaps principles with which Ms McDermid is uncomfortable. Furthermore, over 12% of total UK tax receipts are generated by the financial and professional services industry centred largely, though not exclusively, in The City and Canary Wharf, plus 25% of the UK's overall tax yield is generated in the global economic powerhouse that is London. So more resultant sharing and distributing.

Perhaps Ms McDermid would suggest Scotland holds onto its wind and turfs every fourth Scottish child out of a desk or empties 25% of patients from Scottish hospitals? Or maybe not. She may be a successful fiction writer, but I wonder if, for her, fantasy and reality are becoming a wee bit blurred?

Martin Redfern, Melrose.

Tidal energy the way forward

RE your lead story ("UK 'critically vulnerable' to future energy price spikes", The Herald, October 15), tidal is the way forward. Great Britain is blessed with many estuaries and bays, so far unexploited.

A 2021 paper to the Royal Society suggests tidal could supply 11 per cent of the UK’s current annual electricity demand; a Severn Barrage alone 6-7%. And with road/rail slung across (as at the Black Isle), transport times could be slashed. Plus, off-peak energy could be used to produce green hydrogen.

But of course dams can't be used to create plutonium for weapons, so His Majesty's Government isn't interested.

George Morton, Rosyth.

Killing ground is being prepared

THERE are without doubt Hamas fighters living cheek by jowl with Palestinian families in Gaza. The civilian population has been hounded from pillar to post as their homes have been destroyed by the IDF. Hundreds of thousands of people, all within a tiny area, and with no choice but to shelter in tents and half-destroyed buildings, and with no choice as to who their neighbours are.

In the Jabalia refugee camp in Northern Gaza Israel seems to be preparing the ground for an operation similar to the Sabra and Shatila massacre in Beirut in 1982. Up to an estimated 3,500 Palestinian and Lebanese refugees were massacred there in a deliberate and brutal act of policy.

The IDF justifies its killings in Gaza by claiming that the Hamas fighters are embedded within the civilian population while ensuring that this will be the case. At the same time, Benjamin Netanyahu's government is stopping access by international press and refugee agencies from the area, and blockading aid. It looks very much like a killing ground is being prepared, with no escape being allowed for the civilian population lest Hamas fighters also escape; Israel has previous in this type of operation. We can see this coming. Surely it's not too late for European governments, if not the USA, to prevent it.

John Jamieson, Ayr.

Follow Thatcher's lead on arms sales

AT a recent meeting of our Ayrshire Global Justice Now group the need to suspend all arms sales to Israel was supported by those present.

There is mounting evidence from the United Nations, charitable organisations and numerous media outlets that Israel is breaching international law by the way it is conducting its wars on Gaza and Lebanon.

Margaret Thatcher surprisingly implemented a full embargo on arms sales to Israel after it committed violations of international law during its 1982 invasion of Lebanon.

Surely it is now time for the new Labour Government to take similar action to stop the current killing and suffering being experienced by the Scottish people.

Arthur West, Irvine.

Margaret ThatcherMargaret Thatcher (Image: PA)

Israel's right to this land

JOHN Milne (Letters, October 9) asserts that Israel was built on a foundation of British double dealing with which I beg to differ. Firstly there never was a nation called Palestine. The name Palestine was derived from Philistia named by the Romans. Mr Milne is well read in the history of the Middle East, but rather than the books he has quoted I recommend that your readers read the Bible which clearly shows the origin of the land of Israel, and their right of occupation of the land.

Israel was founded on the promise of God made to Abraham, the father of the state of Israel, in a covenant in which he promised to him and his descendants the land of Canaan as an eternal inheritance. The people of Canaan had lost their right to occupy the land due to their depravity and therefore God decreed that the land would become the land of Israel (Gen 15 18-21 and 17 6-8). This included all the territory from the Jordan river to the Mediterranean Sea, including Hebron, now called the West Bank.

In the Balfour Declaration of 1917 Britain promised a home for the Jewish people which included the above borders. However Israel did not receive all the land promised them in the Balfour Declaration because Britain ceded land to the Arabs in an attempt to appease them. This was a promise broken, the consequences of which have led to the present conflict.

Gaza was well governed when it was in Israel's control and provided employment for the Arabs, and it was the same in the West Bank. The problem is Hamas, whose avowed aim is the destruction of Israel. Israel would make a peace deal with the Palestinians if they renounced violence, and respected Israel's right of existence and sovereignty.

Norman A Ogston, Johnstone.