Madam, – ExxonMobil should get its facts right before it rushes to attack me and the Mossmorran Action Group (Mossmorran operator hits back at councillor criticism, Courier, October 1).
First and most important, neither I nor the board of the Mossmorran Action Group has ever called for the closure of the plant.
We are well aware of the employment it creates and the economic role it plays.
What we, Fife Council and a cross-party group of MSPs have called for is an independent expert study into the full range of environmental, social and health impacts of the plant’s operations.
ExxonMobil and Shell have been pretending since 1984 that the light, noise and air pollution caused by the plant is either non-existent or negligible – at worst, a minor inconvenience.
People who live near the plant know better and they are angry. It is no wonder that some of them have had enough and would be happy to see the back of the plant.
Second, I did not use “overblown” language when I asked Fife Council’s leaders, councillors Ross and Alexander, whether they knew about the Health & Safety Executive’s recent actions.
All I did was quote verbatim some of the wording in the 10 improvement notices and two immediate prohibition notices issued by HSE, so presumably ExxonMobil considers the carefully considered verdicts of this regulator “overblown”.
The real question here is why ExxonMobil kept completely quiet about these Health & Safety breaches, telling no one at Fife Council or in their neighbouring communities.
Trying to shoot a lowly council messenger will only make rebuilding trust with communities, politicians and regulators that much harder.
Councillor Linda Holt.
Dreel House,
Pittenweem.
Civilised route to indy Scotland
Madam, – Mr Sutherland of Stonehaven (UK union more important than EU link, Courier October 2) is clearly a dyed in the wool unionist who I know I will never dissuade from his beliefs, any more than he could turn me from mine.
If he feels I am part of a “nationalist cult”, then it is no different from him being in a “unionist cult”.
As we have come to expect, Mr Sutherland goes with the usual attack on our education system here in Scotland.
I would not expect him to make comparisons with the rest of the union where they are no better off education-wise than in Scotland, and in some places, worse off.
Where their university students run up huge debt caused by necessary loans in order to repay their tuition fees, Scotland has free tuition for our students, a scheme brought in by our present SNP Government.
This allows our youth to prosper in a future Scotland, to help build our country into something great in the future free from the shackles of loan repayment which in lots of cases can take many years.
Mr Sutherland also makes reference to the “nationalist government as being, happily, studiously, embroiled in Scexit” (new word to me, which I assume means Scottish exit). Well, what else would you expect of a party hell bent in independence for our nation? Good on them!
Mr Sutherland may not understand that not all nationalists are in full favour of an SNP Government once we are independent.
Many who I associate with actually believe a coalition may be the best start, with all parties pulling together to set our country off on a good footing.
You see, we are not all mad, claymore swinging fanatics, ready to cross the border and seize our independence by whatever means.
We will do it in a civilised manner through the ballot box.
And we will get there.
Robert Donald.
Denhead Farm,
Ceres.
Trump plays with own rules
Madam, – I was surprised to hear recently that Donald Trump had received planning permission for a second golf course and a housing area at the Menie Estate.
This was apparently granted with conditions.
The first planning consent he applied for was refused by Aberdeenshire Council but called-in by the Scottish Government which “rolled out the red carpet for him”.
In the construction of the golf course he carried out some works which were not covered by the planning permission as was fully explained in Anthony Baxter’s film, You’ve been Trumped.
Having granted him planning permission with conditions, it would appear the authorities are suffering from amnesia.
Perhaps it is time for the Scottish Government to call-in the latest decision in order to withdraw consent.
The US government’s decision to introduce a 25% duty on imported Scottish products will severely damage the whisky, knitwear and biscuit manufacturers in Scotland.
The two things are unconnected but why should Scotland play by the rule book and Donald Trump makes up his own?
Ronald Goodfellow.
6 Elmgrove Park,
Monikie.
Failing to train medical staff
Madam, – President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarovic of Croatia called “freedom of movement” the biggest drawback of the EU, as around 230,000 Croatians have left out of a population of only four million.
Since joining the EU Latvia has lost 20% of its population and three million Romanians have also left.
Romania has lost 50% of its doctors to Western Europe and its poorly staffed health service is on the brink of collapse.
The United Nations have stated that the top 10 countries in the world expected to have a shrinking population are in Eastern Europe.
Meanwhile, the SNP Government and Scotland’s NHS are actively encouraging medical staff from Eastern Europe to migrate to Scotland, regardless of the catastrophic effects on the people of those countries.
This is Scottish neo-colonialism and exploitation of poorer and weaker countries to cover up for the total failure of the Scottish Government to plan for and train our own medical professionals.
Jim Stewart.
23 Market Street,
Musselburgh.
Westminster is all at sea
Madam, – Climate change is an invention to scare the public and introduce stealth taxes.
If MPs actually believed in rising sea levels, why are they allowing our government to spend £5 billion to refurbish the Palace of Westminster, which is only a few feet above the Thames at high water.
No MP has ever asked that question, because they know the answer.
Malcolm Parkin.
Gamekeepers Road,
Kinnesswood,
Kinross.
Shut down the supply of drugs
Madam, – Reading Chief Inspector Mike Whitford’s comments, one is left in no doubt about his concern for the care of drug addicts.
Sadly, once again the concentration is on existing addicts, with nothing said about preventing a new generation of addicts.
When will the authorities acknowledge that the best way to tackle the drugs problem is by preventing it from becoming a problem in the first place by shutting down the sources of supply?
George Dobbie.
51 Airlie Street,
Alyth.
