SHOULD Allan Sutherland (Letters, February 18) not be dubbing David Mundell a “separatist” and a “Narrow Nationalist”, given Brexit? Should John Swinney and Val McDermid not be labelled “Unionists”, as they wish Scotland to stay as members of the European Union? But the real shame is that this type of pejorative language is again being dusted off by the No side, when it was happily absent during the Bexit debates.

Only 23 per cent of the public think the BBC is impartial as a source of news concerning Scotland’s constitutional debate, according to your recent poll (“One-third of Scots think BBC is biased”, The Herald, February 11). I have seen nothing to suggest the BBC has any solution to this, or any interest in finding a solution.

Question Time has built itself a poor record over the years, for unbalanced panel selection, skewed audiences and a chairman who, too often, lets his own opinions overrule good judgement. In spite of Mr Sutherland’s opinion, under Dimbleby, QT not been an environment friendly to Scots, or subjects with a different Scottish locus to be aired. This, in spite of the programme being funded with the already poor allotment Scotland gets from its own licence fee.

GR Weir,

17 Mill Street, Ochiltree.

I NOTE your report of Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary insisting Nicola Sturgeon would lose a second referendum (“Ryanair chief tells Sturgeon to forget new poll”, The Herald, February 17). The basis of his belief is that "Scotland is not strong enough to stand on its own as an independent economy, not with oil at $50 a barrel". This ignores the reality that the Republic of Ireland, with a slightly lower population than ours, does not and never has had the benefit of oil offshore. Similar-sized nations, for example, Denmark and New Zealand, without the bonus of oil do

remarkably well and are never considered as unable to make their way in the world.

Ireland, despite suffering economically during the recession and financial crisis of 2008, has largely recovered and is in a prime position to take advantage of the UK's exit from the EU, particularly in the areas of finance and the new technologies.

Without a new independence referendum even being announced, a ruthless Irish businessman is given the oxygen of publicity to threaten that his announcement of new air routes could be scrapped if the Scottish Government fails to abolish Air Passenger Duty. Are we really to believe these routes would be abandoned should Scotland ever be independent?

John Macleod,

Cauldstream Place, Milngavie.