IF only GR Weir (Letters, March 19) was right to claim that “the wounds and poison of Brexit are not reflected in Scotland’s constitutional debate”. Those favouring a rerun of the 2014 referendum like to view that campaign and its divisive impact through rose-tinted spectacles. Yet to this day, those who value Scotland’s place in the UK and say so, continue to face abuse and intimidation, reflecting the deep divisions that the SNP’s obsession has bequeathed to Scotland.

Alex Salmond of course liked to claim the Scottish independence referendum campaign was an exemplar of its kind, turning a blind eye to the ill feeling generated by the debate. Equally of course he glossed over the knowingly misleading content of the now widely-discredited Scotland’s Future White Paper, and what many viewed as the politicisation of the Scottish civil service involved in that exercise.

As for how the people of Scotland really feel about the experience of the 2014 referendum, the latest Survation poll shows 60 per cent of us do not want a second independence referendum in the next five years. The people are reluctant to revisit all that discord knowing in advance how deep and wide the differences in our society continue to run.

Keith Howell,

White Moss, West Linton, Peeblesshire.

REGARDING the current BBC "bias" row, the Scottish Labour Party pulled off a propaganda coup two days before the independence referendum ("Former head of news tells BBC to fix bias before Indyref2", The Herald, March 18). Eleanor Bradford, then the Health Correspondent for BBC Scotland was fed a story by a “senior NHS whistle-blower” with a blatantly political agenda. According to the BBC website, the whistle-blower “had become frustrated by the argument of the Yes campaign that the biggest threat to the NHS comes from the UK government”.

A leaked document from a meeting of senior NHS executives held six weeks previously referred to a funding gap of £400-450 million over the following two years. But the timing of the leak, coming two days before the referendum vote, looked as if it had been deliberately chosen.

Ms Bradford broke the story on Reporting Scotland on September 16, 2014, only two days before voting day. She interviewed Alex Neil, then the Health Secretary, who denied the funding shortfall but went on to talk about efficiency savings. This was immediately followed by a campaigning Jackie Baillie who was standing in front of a crowd of supporters all holding placards that read, “SNP NHS LIES”. She accused the SNP of secretly planning swingeing cuts.

On the eve of the referendum, Labour sent out an email to all its supporters. Ostensibly from Gordon Brown, the heading on the email was “This could swing the referendum”. The text said: “News broke yesterday that could swing the outcome of the referendum: the SNP have been hiding plans to make £500 million of cuts to our NHS if there's a Yes vote. The NHS lie of Alex Salmond has been exposed. People need to know the truth about what he will do to Scotland if they vote Yes. Tomorrow we will cast the most important vote of our lives, a decision we can never go back on. It's vital that people can vote based on the facts — not Alex Salmond's falsehoods.”

So BBC Scotland became the propaganda agents of Labour’s campaign against independence. What impact this had on undecided Labour supporters, we cannot know.

Alastair Moodie,

4 Burnbrae Road, Auchinloch, North Lanarkshire.

WILLIAM Durward (Letters, March 19) write:s “The SNP at Westminster is intolerant of dissent and functions as one”; obviously hoping it would be as shambolic as the Tory and Labour parties. He then goes on to write: “Ignored are the 36 per cent of SNP supporters who voted Leave”.

Party unity is a virtue, and both the Prime Minister and the supposed Leader of the Opposition would like this in their own parties; the fractious moves in the current Parliament are an object lesson of how not to behave. The fact that the Speaker, John Bercow has now had to quote Erskine May, not Theresa May, is significant. The “constitutional” supporters are up in arms – bless them.

Mr Durward’s figure of 36 per cent of SNP supporters voting Leave is not one I am familiar with; what I do know is that 62 per cent of Scotland voted Yes and 38 per cent voted No. Every local authority in Scotland voted Yes. Mr Durward’s attempt to claim a strong support for No in SNP voters is specious.

Jim Lynch,

42 Corstorphine Hill Crescent, Edinburgh.