IT'S difficult to know where to begin in replying to Allan Sutherland's attack on the SNP Government and the make-up of the new cabinet (Letters, May 20) but perhaps we might start with the assumptions and best guesses he asserts as "facts".

The "£15bn deficit" he quotes is highly contentious and was put about by the Tory Government in Westminster. It is a hugely biased opinion and has been disputed by many experts. "The unknown currency" disaster was cooked up by George Osborne and has also been disputed by a former Governor of the Bank of England who recently stated that there would be no barrier to an independent Scotland adopting the pound sterling. After all the currency is not the exclusive property of England but of the whole United Kingdom and Scotland is entitled to share it. If my wife decided to chuck me out of our mutual home, or if I rather stupidly left her, she could not prevent me from claiming my share of our mutual property.

I found it hard to start this letter because I at first thought Mr Sutherland was not serious when he referred to the likes of Jackie Baillie and Jackson Carlaw as "the talent opposite". These are representatives of the parties that gave us PPP and PFI, a policy which has put at risk our children's physical safety, their education and will empty the common purse for decades to line the pockets of unscrupulous company directors who will still be enjoying the profits from their jerry-built edifices when our children have left school and will be paying taxes to reward the undeserving.

Lastly, he mistakenly blames Derek MacKay for the faults that were discovered in the Forth Road Bridge. The Transport Minister was entitled to rely on the advice he was given by technical experts rather than himself hanging from a cable over the Firth of Forth to check for cracks. And is he not entitled to any credit for the repairs being completed ahead of schedule? He is also the minister who looks likely to bring in the new Queensferry Crossing ahead of schedule and under budget - not to mention his speedy action in making sure the historic tour of Scotland by the Flying Scotsman went ahead.

I look forward to seeing Nicola Sturgeon and her new cabinet continuing their good work. They need have little fear of "the talent opposite".

David C Purdie,

!2 Mayburn Vale, Loanhead, Midlothian.