WHEN The National was excluded from Theresa May’s Scottish press briefing in November 2018, its blank front page asking questions with no answers went viral. For the first and only time, Sky’s Kay Burley had a copy on her desk during a paper review. Tellingly she dismissed it as an SNP paper. I’ve never heard her refer to the Mirror and the Guardian as Labour party papers or the Telegraph, Express and Mail as Conservative party newspapers.

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The “Salmond-supporting” critics of The National appear to be aligned with Kay Burley’s jaundiced view. Naturally those who are for independence feature heavily in the paper and it’s no surprise most are SNP members. The National has the best letters pages of any paper and it’s ironic that its pages aired perceived grievances against its editor.

Let’s be grown-up about where we are. Talking down The National at a time of crisis for the paper’s future could be construed as being at worst mischievous and at best thoughtless. Let’s keep the heid, keep the eye on the ball and keep subscribing.

Mike Herd
Highland

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