Readers’ letters: Trident submarines have helped keep Europe free

This elusive proof is actually staring her in the face; the invasion has never happened and Europe has so far remained free.

Had Ukraine not been tricked into giving up Soviet atomic missiles by the false assurances of the 1994 Budapest Treaty, it’s highly unlikely that the dictator Putin would have unleashed a savage onslaught on his neighbour’s sovereign territory.

The unilateral disarmament and Scottish separatist movements which this lady supports both seek to render us defenceless by removing Trident submarines and fragmenting the UK along with, presumably, large parts of mainland Europe which also have secessionist groups agitating for the dismemberment of their countries.

Ms Ellis Thompson can’t resist taking at swipe at nuclear energy too, hinting that wildfires near Sizewell B could cause a Chernobyl-style catastrophe.

Well, low-carbon Torness power station generates nearly a fifth of Scotland’s electricity, regardless of wind speed. When it’s decommissioned in a few years with nothing to replace it, expect power cuts. It is Ms Ellis Thompson and those like her who are fiddling while Rome burns.

Martin O’Gorman, Edinburgh

Proving a negative

Marjorie Ellis Thompson questions whether having nuclear weapons has actually prevented a war. It’s always hard to prove a negative, but she should perhaps look at Ukraine. As part of a peace of agreement, they gave up their nuclear weapons. Many years later, Russia invaded Ukraine – a war that has lasted four years to date, cost hundreds of thousands of lives and tens of billions of pounds worth of damage.

Does anyone seriously believe Ukraine would have been invaded by Russia had they kept their nuclear weapons?

Brian Barbour, Haddington, East Lothian

All at sea

Is the new SNP slogan going to be “It’s Scotland’s oil but we don't want it”? News that oil giant BP wants to pull out of its North Sea business (your report, 1 August) ought not to surprise anyone given the amount of stick this industry has taken from the SNP, Greens and Labour.

Scotland remains on the fringes of climate change and this has to be taken into account. It rarely is by many politicians. Scotland is still colder and wetter than even south of the Border. Our heating bills are therefore higher naturally even before the political levies are applied.

Now, if BP goes, another piece of our shrinking infrastructure goes too. Yes, someone might take it over but the decline is there for all to see. Has Mr Burnham instantly announced production in the North Sea will be ramped up and even fracking will be given a green light? No. Are the SNP and Greens fighting hard to save this industry? No. It is no longer Scotland’s oil but we still really need it.

Gerald Edwards, Glasgow

Stop nagging

The nagging to revive North Sea oil and gas is both dangerous and short-sighted.

The first because, as most well-informed people agree, the more fossil fuel we burn the hotter it will become with wildfires, drought and rising sea levels threatening billions of people around the world. If Britain is producing less CO2 then that’s mainly because we have exported our CO2-producing industries, only to buy back products made by industries made using fossil fuel in those exporting countries. Globally, the net level of CO2 is rising.

It is short-sighted because oil and gas are very valuable chemical resources enabling plastics, fertilisers, paint and myriad other useful products. In burning them, we are, in effect, eating the seed corn.

Far better and more responsible to set about becoming self-reliant in renewable energy and the devices required to make it. Attractive financial and educational incentives will set that ball rolling and provide all the proper jobs we currently lack.

Tim Flinn, Edinburgh

Wonderful diversity

As a gay teenager, more than 50 years ago, no-one told me everyone had a sexual orientation, which could be different from the assumed universal heterosexuality. No-one told me I could be gay, if my orientation was not congruent with heterosexual norms. And no-one affirmed my sexual orientation, in any way. So those kinds of support were certainly not what made me gay. Instead, the lack of them made my life significantly more difficult.

How sad it is then to see Jenny Lindsay (Scotsman, 3 August) claim that those same three things (mutatis mutandis, I have copied her wording) are what makes a young person believe they are trans. They do not have that effect. But restricting such information and affirmation certainly makes young trans people’s lives much more difficult.

I am still gay, half a century on. And fortunately, now, very many people understand that lesbian, gay and bi people are part of humanity’s wonderful diversity. Increasingly, they understand that trans people are too, and that, like LGB people, trans people should be recognised, welcomed, and treated with fairness.

Tim Hopkins, Edinburgh

Tram dilemma

There’s a lot of media comment on the absence of trams to Leith following the Princes Street fire.

I may be wrong, but the last time I travelled to Leith, there were plenty of buses from the city centre on the route down Leith Walk. Now with our Voi bikes, there’s another way to travel to Leith.

Fiona Garwood, Edinburgh

On the ball

How kind it was of Tony Ostrowski to write (Letters, 31 July) recalling his fond memories of playing in the inaugural official cricket match on Elie Beach. After purchasing The Ship Inn in 1989 I found that I could no longer escape to play cricket for Largo CC at the weekends and so started a cricket team made up of our pub regulars for whom I could play under the guise of it being a marketing exercise!

We played three matches away on grass in 1990 against teams from St Andrews University, Strathallan School and Edinburgh Academicals. The Ship Inn came a distant second in all three matches but a lot of fun was had and many new friends were made.

The match on Elie Beach against Edinburgh Academicals to which Tony refers was held on 1st September 1991 in an attempt to repay the kind hospitality The Ship Inn CC had received at Raeburn Place the previous year. We luckily got the hottest day of summer and a large crowd who were thoroughly entertained and insisted that we repeat the exercise in the future.

The fixture list grew over the following years as visiting teams relished the chance to play and socialise on the beach. Our team attracted more talented players and the marketing exercise succeeded to the extent that The Scotsman newspaper devoted its entire back page to reporting the first of our two matches against Lashings CC in the Monday edition on 23 June, 2003. Dougie Vipond also played in a match televised by the BBC for their ‘Landward’ programme. The present owners of The Ship Inn, Graham and Rachel Bucknall, continue the cricket to this day, adding their own enthusiasm and innovation.

Never did I think when playing against Tony on that sunny afternoon in 1991 that I would be facing an over from Courtney Walsh of West Indies fame on the same pitch 13 years later in 2004! Ship Inn cricket has certainly come a long way in its 36 years.

Richard Philip, Elie, Fife

No bias

Ken Gow writes (Letters, 1 August) of the BBC’s coverage of the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, that “in a clear demonstration of ‘Britain is England’ thinking, the coverage was led by Clare Balding and an all-English commentary team”.

Clare Balding did indeed present the evening sessions of the 2022 Games. However, the afternoon sessions were presented by the distinctly Scottish Hazel Irvine. That’s the distinctly Scottish Hazel Irvine who has been engaged by the BBC to present many domestic and international sporting events over the years – including the World Snooker Championship from The Crucible Theatre in Sheffield, England.

John A Macintyre OBE, Woking, Surrey

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