Is Patel closing the door to immigrants to seem ‘super-British’?

The bill extends the ability of the UK Government to take action against and possibly imprison UK citizens who assist asylum seekers and or refugees however they are painted, Yes that is serious consequence, but not the only one.

Is it simply Patel “slamming the door shut” on future immigrants? Yes but that’s not all. Is it because she so desires more power, possibly the PM-ship when Boris vacates the seat?

Quite possibly. She is power hungry, having already been told to take awareness training when found to be bullying Home Office staff. UK taxpayers are forking out £360,000 to pay off a senior staff member for unfair dismissal.

However, Patel, whose Indian parents migrated first to Uganda then subsequently became immigrants to England prior to Idi Amin’s expulsion of all Indian nationals from the nation, was born in the UK in 1972. So she at least can’t be deported as an illegal.

My concern relates to her apparent turning on UK immigrants who are fleeing persecution as her parents were. My fear is born of her desire to be seen as “super-British”.

I can remember the BBC TV Series It Ain’t Half Hot Mum (1974-77) where an Indian character Rangi Ram (Michael Bates) assumed the status of “British” and criticised the other lower-caste Indians, to proclaim his superiority over them and to ingratiate himself with his British masters.

Could the Home Secretary be victim of, or be tainted by the broadcast prejudice of, the mid-to-late 70s and early 80s? After all, she is a Thatcherite. By all of our definitions Patel is British, but she is acting as though she steeped in the mentality of the Raj era.

How sad and harsh this government is on a small number of people, fleeing to these shores, using small boats in dangerous seas.

Alistair Ballantyne

Birkhill, Angus

TWO letters on Friday caught my attention, both on the subject of the Alba Party. The first one, written by Mr Walter Hamilton, was excellent and hit the nail on the head. In it he explains why Alba should be taken seriously by the SNP and why action on their part is required.

“Ignore the mood of the people at your peril, Nicola!” Spot on. Couldn’t have said it better myself.

The second was a one-eyed, childish exercise in name-calling from a person who I shall not embarrass further. I do not understand the hostility some have towards those who share the same goals but express different opinions on how to attain them. What is the point of petty name calling and lies about polling?

Regardless, as a lifelong SNP member and supporter of Scottish independence I can say that I fully expect a referendum on the subject to be held in this parliament. I expect it to be delivered by the SNP leadership and I shall march and campaign for a Yes vote alongside independence supporters of every stripe.

However, if for any reason that vote is not delivered in these five years, if the mandate we have given is squandered and we are still sitting around watching the drip, drip of poison from the media and the slow creep of the Westminster fingers around our necks, I shall tear up my membership and vote Alba 1 and 2.

I would advise others to do the same if that time comes. I still have faith in the SNP but I can now see a wall approaching. We cannot afford another five years of inaction.

Rory Bulloch

Glasgow

THERE are more think tanks in London and the South East of England than one could shake a stick at; they are ubiquitous and still growing in numbers. Many of these organisations are English government-funded. On the contrary, Scotland has few think tanks, and one of the most important is the Scottish Centre

on European Relations (SCER) run by Dr Kirsty Hughes, its founder and director.

In your article on Thursday (Shock as Scotland’s leading think tank on Europe to close), she was quoted as saying: “Sadly, SCER is now bringing its activities to a close. Without sustained funding, we could not take its activities to the next level we aimed for.” Hughes went on to say that “SCER had become a high-profile, influential European affairs think tank over the past four years”.

Many high-profile Scots have already mourned its coming demise, and its importance has also been recognised south of the Border, with emeritus professor and senior research fellow Fergal Cochrane, of the Conflict Analysis Research Centre at University of Kent, saying: “Very sorry to hear

this Kirsty – though the timing is hard to fathom as Scotland/Europe relations have never been more important and set to become more so? Thanks to you and everyone involved for all the great work produced. We have all learned from it.”

So, what’s the Scottish Government’s attitude to this disaster for Scotland and its future plans? It’s beginning to look like they’re not interested, just the same as their lack of interest in many other things that could be of vital importance to Scotland’s future. I recall one of Nicola Sturgeon’s most important advisors saying recently that she couldn’t understand Nicola’s “old-fashioned” lack of interest in what I figured out to be a new Scottish currency.

It’s not too late, and I hope Nicola will be looking – urgently today – at the funding necessary to ensure the future of such a vitally important resource for Scotland as SCER.

Bruce Moglia

Bridge of Weir