I WRITE regarding Todd Warnock’s column. In his article, Mr Warnock strangely accuses me of not meeting him, his partners or responding to his calls.

The reality, as Mr Warnock well knows, is that my office arranged a conference call with him to call in on October 5. This was at his request, yet he failed to call.

The following week Mr Warnock contacted my Parliamentary Assistant, referring to him by surname, saying he wished to talk but only when he wasn’t out “stalking”.

We deal with many callers and it was quite apparent Mr Warnock was not serious about discussing Coul Links and I had no desire to waste further time waiting in the forlorn hope that he may grace me with a call.

What I have done was deal with constituents, from both sides of the debate, about the competing arguments about this development.

Of particular concern to me have been those expressing fears about speaking out locally for fear of a backlash. I am familiar with the area and believe the proposed course will be ruinous to the unique dune land environment, a position shared by environmental and wildlife organisations as well as government regulatory bodies.

Mr Warnock may not like the comparison with Trump; the comparison is there for everyone to see and I make no apology to him for making it.

John Finnie, ​MSP, Highlands and Islands

IT’S the time of year when children might, on a regular basis, demonstrate a “difficulty sustaining attention in tasks or play activities,” a time when they might “lose things necessary for tasks or activities,” a time when they might be “easily distracted by extraneous stimuli,” a time when they might have “difficulty playing or engaging in leisure activities quietly,” or a time when they might talk “excessively.”

This sounds like the normal childhood behaviour that goes hand-in-hand with the excitement of the festive season. To a psychiatrist, however, it’s part of the diagnostic criteria used to label children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Normal childhood behaviour has been re-defined by the psychiatry to the point where dangerous chemical restraints are used to suppress this behaviour. Psychiatric drugs, however, are not the answer.

Psychiatrists know they are in a position where people listen to them. The rhetoric regarding childhood behaviour has been cleverly worded to sound convincing, and is regularly accepted without inspection. Parents are in a difficult position, with few options and, with their children’s interests at heart, believe what they are told.

There are no tests to support the existence of ADHD. It’s a figment of psychiatric imagination yet it continues to be promulgated. It is testimony to worldwide propaganda that ADHD drugs, which include drugs similar to cocaine, have become accepted as “treatment” for a condition that has never been scientifically proven.

It’s been said before and it’s worth repeating: ADHD is the modern-day equivalent of the emperor’s new clothes.

There’s no doubt children can be boisterous, argumentative, and even disruptive. However, psychiatry’s fixation on labelling such difficulties as a mental disorder is a medical fraud.

At this time of year, it’s customary to resolve to do things that make life better. Therefore, as a society, we should resolve to give up labelling children with disorders and to stop chemically restraining them. Children are not experimental animals but human beings who have every right to expect protection, care, love and the chance to reach their full potential in life. They will be denied this with the chemical straitjackets that are psychiatry’s labels and drugs.

Brian Daniels, National Spokesperson, Citizens Commission on Human Rights