Alan Taylor wonders if Robert Burns would have been in favour of independence (Diary, January 19).

I refer Mr Taylor to a 1979 publication titled Poetry And Politics: Burns And Revolution, by WJ Murray, which is surely the most comprehensive study ever published on the politics of Robert Burns.

This publication states: "Be it in his Scottish nationalism inspired by a desire for freedom from southern domination, or in the greater freedom that transcends national boundaries, Burns's faith in fraternity remained unshaken."

Norrie Paton

Campbeltown