Letters: A long, sorry story shows shipbuilding lessons have not been learned

Not to be outdone, fellow lawyer Nicola Sturgeon popped up for the SNP to claim that the ships could have been re-classified as having a military function, thereby avoiding a competitive tender process and allowing the contract to be awarded to Fergusons. It was subsequently pointed out to her that not only was this also illegal but defence procurement is not devolved. See me, see lawyers.

Last but not least we have the Liberal Democrats, whose Ross Finnie cancelled a fishery protection vessel in 2006 after it had been awarded to Appledore’s yard in Devon rather than the Fergusons yard in his own constituency. This was on the pretext that a Wartsila engine had been specified by his own officials in breach of EU law. He was absolutely correct. Specifying a product or supplier in a public contract is forbidden as it not only prevents competition but also gives the supplier a monopoly.

Why is this latter fact relevant ? Well if you cast your eyes over the small print in Ferguson’s contract you will find that CMAL had specified Wartsila engines to be used in the bidders’ designs for their two vessels. So much for “lessons will be learned”.

Robert Menzies, Falkirk.

TIME FOR SOME PERSPECTIVE

NO ONE can deny that the Ferguson ferry costs and delays are a mess, albeit with the best of intentions to help Scottish shipbuilding, and not helped by numerous design changes and Covid disruption.

However, to put it into perspective, the over-budget costs are much less than the mismanagement of the Edinburgh trams project or the Holyrood building under the Labour/LibDem coalition and pales into insignificance compared to the ongoing costs of Labour’s very expensive PFI building contracts imposed on Scottish health boards and education authorities.

None of this can match the cost of Brexit and numerous examples of Westminster waste, including awarding a Brexit ferry contract to a firm that owned no ships and never ran a Channel service. The cost of modernising the Palace of Westminster is expected to last 30 years and cost £6 billion. Billions have been wasted on Covid contracts awarded to companies with no prior experience set up by Tory donors and their friends.

On Wednesday the UK Government sneaked out a report from the independent fiscal watchdog that the Government bailout of failed British energy supplier Bulb will cost taxpayers an additional £500m over two years, taking the total support required to £2.2bn to cover the company’s operating costs over the next two years.

It is a timely reminder of the cost of Margaret Thatcher’s deregulation using money from Scotland’s oil and making the City of London the money-laundering capital of the world.

Fraser Grant, Edinburgh.

* NICOLA Sturgeon has blamed Derek Mackay for the Ferguson ferries debacle. She should beware of repercussions from this cowardly action. “Hell hath no fury like a former trusted colleague, who knows where the skeletons are buried, scorned".

James Quinn, Lanark.

PM SHOULD THINK ABOUT RESIGN CALL

I SEE that Boris Johnson has called for the resignation of P&O boss Peter Hebblethwaite over the sacking UK workers. Perhaps he should also consider his own position after lying to the country on numerous occasions.

Steve Barnet, Gargunnock.

THE CULT OF PUTIN

A COUPLE of weeks ago I heard a serious-sounding lady on Radio 4's Any Answers relate how she sat at a large dinner in Russia with Vladimir Putin at the top table. She suddenly realised mid-course that everyone had put their cutlery down. She observed that when Putin lifted his knife and fork again, everyone did the same.

In 1956, three years after the death of Stalin, and following a period of cautious and gradual criticism of him, a document was published in Russia and abroad entitled “On Overcoming the Cult of Personality and Its Consequences”.

If only there was a publisher in Russia today brave (or suicidal) enough to re-circulate that document.

Simon Paterson, Glasgow.

ARE THE VACCINES REALLY SAFE?

MAY I raise a concern about the safety of Covid vaccines? At the moment battle lines are drawn between various agencies concerned with promulgating and licensing said vaccines and attendant information is hard to come by because of legal barriers. There is a question of how safe these are when given to non-vulnerable people, especially the serious side effects when given to children.

I cite my own experience of the sometimes-deadly effects of these vaccines. Six months ago my brother in law dropped dead due to a thrombosis two days after receiving his booster. A month later my wife entered hospital for a simple procedure after receiving a booster. She was only 58 but she died four days later due to "an acute kidney injury" which is rare and fatal. My son has developed "contact dermatitis", due to a compromised immune system after receiving his booster. All these side effects are listed as recorded Covid vaccine side effects.

Surely it’s time to review the safety of these vaccines without the various agencies smothering the debate with legal threats and misinformation.

Martin Robertson, Glasgow.

DON'T BLOCK BOTANIC GARDENS

I LIVE on the edge of the Glasgow Botanic Gardens. I am not a "nimby", nor do I want to hold Glasgow back in its efforts to become a magnet for global film-makers. But the last time I walked there I was entirely hemmed in by massive white trucks – apparently of vital necessity to the filming of Batgirl. Approximately 25 per cent of the Gardens was fenced off. Elderly people were sitting on the usual benches facing ... a white screen of trucks. They couldn't even see the trees. This has been going on now for months and is growing worse.

The Botanics is a vital source of refreshment to me and to many other residents of Glasgow. During lockdown it was a life-saver. Even now, though permitted, many locals may not be able to, and may choose not to travel further afield for a taste of nature and fresh air. In such a densely-populated flatted area, most do not have their own gardens. There is also huge disruption to the birds and other wildlife.

The Botanic Gardens were set up for the people of Glasgow to enjoy, to educate people about nature. It is already small and on a sunny day is often over capacity in terms of locals out enjoying the sun. It belongs to the people of Glasgow. Who is making money from this? Not Glasgow apparently, and certainly not the benighted Botanic Gardens. I have heard that the opposite is in fact true.

Yes, I have heard the argument that they bring revenue to the area; but they bring their own catering. Similarly the argument that local young people find jobs with them; if this is true, could we please know how many?

I am told the company will restore everything to what it was before they arrived, however, that normally takes months and then there will be the next event which will leave another area of grass unusable. But we residents want to use it now.

This is symptomatic of the creep to monetise and capitalise on the assets of Glasgow. I have lived here for 42 years and I have seen it happen. I believe this should absolutely be resisted on behalf of the people of Glasgow, who pay high rates and are entitled to try to ensure that the assets belonging to the city for the recreation of the people are preserved.

Caroline Stewart, Glasgow.

EASY ANSWERS TO WEE PROBLEMS

HAVING been lucky enough to return to my favourite place in the world after a Covid-imposed absence, I've just been catching up on my late-night read of today's Herald.

I was somewhat bemused at the article reporting on the rise in public urination problems ("Wee row over rise in public urination", The Herald, March 25). What do the authorities expect those caught short to do when councillors have closed most of the public loos?

Here in New Zealand, the local authorities provide ample facilities, sparkling clean, usually in lovely surroundings, some even with colourful and beautiful murals. None is defaced or vandalised. Even in popular "tramping" bush areas, clean compost toilets are maintained by the excellent Department of Conservation. I have frequently commented to my NZ friends how lucky they are compared to Glasgow and elsewhere in Scotland, including tourist resorts in the Highlands and Islands.

What price a wee? Here it's usually free.

Lesley Mackiggan, Glasgow (temporarily Nelson, New Zealand).

CHANGING FAUNA ON ALISA CRAIG

CELIA Judge (Letters, March 24) recalls her memory of the feral goats kept on Ailsa Craig for many years; in the 1950s they were ostensibly to provide milk for use in Mrs Girvan’s tearoom. In 1930, following the evacuation of St Kilda, a herd of around 20 Soay sheep were shipped to the Clyde and left on Ailsa and other islands such as Holy Island, Arran, to preserve the stock, not knowing if they would survive on Hirta in the absence of humans. Of course they were just fine, but on Ailsa they eventually interacted with goats and sheep to the extent that all sheep and goats were removed by the late 1960s. Soay sheep still remain on Holy Island and the Sanda Isles, Kintyre, to this day.

Puffins are once again thriving on Ailsa Craig. Picture: Bernard Zonfrillo

Rats were eradicated in spring of 1990 thanks to the cooperation of the Marquess of Ailsa and a team of Glasgow University zoology students led by myself. The RSPB played no part in that activity. Nowadays, 30 years after the absence of rats, the puffins are once again thriving on the island and duly restored as a breeding species to Ayrshire.

Bernard Zonfrillo, Glasgow.