THE suggestion, by his wife, that Chief Constable Phil Gormley’s current travails may be due to his being English seems imprudent and unhelpful, but as The Thunderer of London has editorialised that it “deserves to be explored”, so be it (Chief Constable’s wife attacks probe. The National, January 20).

The Scots have, for a century and more, been remarkably restrained while a hugely disproportionate number of “top jobs” have seemingly been reserved for, or gifted to, English incomers. If the elephant in the room is now to squash open that can of worms, we should tread carefully but not be afraid to be honest.

Much of that phenomenon has, of course, been inevitable, and often no doubt entirely fair, when we were – still are – in an unequal Union with a country ten times our size and with a hundred times an opinion of themselves. Which is not surprising as, until relatively recently, they ruled half the planet. Nevertheless, it is extremely unlikely that the Scots – historically thought of (and not just by ourselves) as well-educated and hard-working, really are not fit to take the leadership roles in the civil, cultural and educational etc fields in their own country.

Happily, things may be improving. The top positions seem to be going less often to “carpetbaggers” – to be fair, the Scots dumped their bags, on merit, all over the old Empire! – but it will be unacceptable if the bourach that London is making of Brexit results in another flood of refugees from the Green and Pleasant being gifted the strings and levers of power in Scotland again. Those days are surely gone now.

David Roche
Address supplied

SCOTLAND is a cosmopolitan place and the people in authority here reflect this. Having a chief constable and two out three deputies from a neighbouring country is disproportionate.

While it is good to welcome people into our midst from elsewhere, it is wrong to get to the point where local people are always in the minority in positions of power.

Mr Gormley, having secured the top job, continues to have his home in England. This does not inspire confidence in his commitment to Scotland and the likelihood of him becoming a permanent resident.

Margaret Pennycook
Glasgow