WHILST appreciating reader Keith Taylor’s aspirational intentions on reforming the EBC, I do hope he won’t take offence in me thinking it extremely naive to wish to reform the most British of all British institutions, like the British nationalist Labour party, or the English nationalist monarchy, or even imperialism itself.

There is no point in time-wasting or attempting to reform the unreformable. Such embedded institutions have to be kicked out and replaced for any future hope of Scotland being an independent country. Just as the Queen is the head of state, the Anglican church and armed forces etc, the EBC is also a totem of the British empire and does not belong in a free and democratic state.

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You can spend as long as you wish writing letters of complaint – those who have spent many an hour on that wasted process will tell you in advance that you will receive a formal reply that any examiners would marked in bold red ink, “NAQ” – NOT ANSWERING THE QUESTION!

Waffle, waffle and gobbledegook succinctly describe the endless verbal and written diarrhoea. The EBC’s entirely predictable standard replies destroy any attempt to disguise their sheer arrogance, indifference and cavalier attitude.

The EBC annually spends less on BBC Scotlandshire than its licence fee in Scotland. Scotland’s only soap, River City, once a weekly production, has not yet been taken out of quarantine, whist we have plenty daily English soaps to choose from on all channels. At first, the Scottish soaps were deemed second-rate because of their limited budgets and horizons, but we have to be allowed the second-rate before progressing to first-rate. We need an Independent Broadcasting Corporation with lots of Lenny Murdochs and PC Murdochs as opposed to Rupert Murdoch in charge. I’d prefer Rupert the Bear myself.

We were telt during the rigarendum that an independent Scotland would not be allowed Doctor Who. Whit? It is already broadcasted to more than 80 other countries. Doctor Who comes off the Welsh budget, as did many other fine productions, but is still a Brit budget fiddle at the expense of an independent Welsh budget. I’d rather be a Dalek than a Brit.

I would say to Keith Taylor and other readers, just remember who you are dealing with. Try watching some Netflix productions such as Rebellion and Insurrection to see how old imperialism, divide and rule, treachery, treason, double-dealing, double standards, hypocrisy, dishonour and traitor’s gold really is.

Donald Anderson
Glasgow

AFTER six months, why does BBC Scotland not accept what Scottish Government health briefings during the pandemic must continue to be?

Each must be a set of up-to-date advice, a set of advisory and compulsory restrictions, arising from best available data. Prohibitions in such a briefing must be vivid and in block capitals. The vulnerable – ultimately all of us – need to get the message loud and clear.

A daily briefing is not, repeat not, either a bunfight for opposition politicians or a commentators’ field day. There are other significant places – like the Scottish Parliament – and other BBC programmes where strategic differences can be debated.

A larger question looms. Is BBC Scotland henceforward going to act as a public service broadcaster, or as the cowed lapdog of a UK establishment whose own briefings have long since sunk into omnishambles?

If the latter, then the charge is now – and will remain for years – that BBC Scotland, by confusing daily briefings, acted as accessory to the pandemic and against the interests of vulnerable people in Scotland.

John Aberdein
Hoy, Orkney