Sir, – Jon Snow read his last Channel 4 news on December 23. His legacy is intrepid and honest reporting.
Clips included his fearless challenge with the president of Iran. All UK politicians praised Snow when they recalled his challenge. Except Jacob Rees-Mogg, who recalled his child’s reaction “Nanny, Nanny it’s the lefty from the telly”, before conceding Snow was tough. Those words from a “five-year-old to the nanny” speak volumes about the man directing Parliament business.
Conservative government moves to curb valid challenges from Channel 4 and BBC are barely disguised. Labour and others often see the same channels as hostile, but do not propose government controls. Long may the successors of Jon Snow challenge power, and the abuse of power that seems current.
Mike Hannan, Cults, Aberdeen.
Putting the Christ into Christmas
Sir, – Ron Campbell (Letters, December 23) rightly observes that among the rampant materialism of Christmas, “the real reason for it is being forgotten”.
He also rightly urges us to think of those less fortunate than ourselves. However the true meaning of Christmas goes much deeper even than that.
“The reason for the season” is Jesus himself, as we remember the moment in history when the son of God entered into our troubled and broken world, and by his life, death and resurrection brings reconciliation with God for all who shall place their faith in him.
After a second consecutive Christmas in the teeth of this grim pandemic, and the suffering and anxiety it brings, we may remember that Jesus continues to offer hope and peace in the storms of life.
Michael Veitch, Parliamentary Officer, CARE for Scotland.
Freeports news strangely silent
Sir, – Twenty years ago, news that three major foreign investments have gone to Tees-side Freeport in preference to the Scottish Government’s confused, huffy, beta-max Greenport brand would have been headline TV news with an apopleptically mockraged Alex Salmond accusing Scottish Enterprise (remember them?), the Scottish Secretary (Helen Liddell, succeeded by Alistair Darling), and the Scottish Parliament (yep, they’ve been around that long) of sleeping on the job.
Not now. Apart from a five minute analysis by Douglas Fraser on BBC Radio, Scotland’s 800,000 teatime TV news audience and the other 3.5m voters have heard almost nothing.
They don’t know that in April this year, while the SNP was sucking up to Greta Thunberg and the 34,000 Green voters who delivered Nicola Sturgeon’s one-seat majority, eight English Freeports had already been awarded.
And Tees-side, which enjoyed cross-party support, was operational by November, a great example of “if you don’t look a gift horse in the mouth – and build it – they will come”.
We should all be furious. Instead the whole sorry affair is just another layer of sludge in the blocked drain of Scottish affairs that the SNP/Greens don’t want to shift, the opposition can’t or won’t, and TV channels run a mile from.
There is one horrendous solution in sight, however; Lorna Slater’s fantasy circular economy, which will soon have Scotland swirling down the pan. Anti-clockwise.
Allan Sutherland, Willow Row, Stonehaven.