Critical condition

IT IS most ironic. In your newspaper today (9 August) there two interesting reports.

The first is on the Scottish Islamic Foundation, formerly led by SNP candidate Osama Saeed and in receipt of funding from a supposedly cash-strapped SNP administration, being accused of ''sharing the ideology of terrorists'' by the much respected Quilliam Foundation, The other is a report on Alex Salmond's letter encouraging Fred Goodwin in his bank's disastrous move for ABN, only to later call the move a "grievous error" and "a huge mistake".

And on the Letters page, R Mill Irving attacks me for daring to criticise the SNP and its leaders! Perhaps Mr Irving needs to widen his reading horizon.

ALEXANDER MCKAY

New Cut Rigg

Edinburgh

So R Mill Irving's carefully considered opinion of Alexander McKay's "splenetic diatribes" in The Scotsman is that they are "puerile and risible". All because Mr McKay says Alex Salmond is a bit of a chancer. Dear, dear. Whatever happened to freedom of speech? And who's spleen is on show now?

Mr Irving may well want to live in a country where his chosen one is above criticism, but most Scots prefer living in a British democracy where anyone can criticise the leader.

ROBERT VEITCH

Paisley Drive

Edinburgh