Sir, I have to admit to a tinge of sympathy for Mr Chris Huhne the soon to be unemployed MP who will lose his job and, indeed, his freedom for trying to cover up three speeding points on his driving licence.
Particularly so when comparing his misdemeanour alongside the billions of pounds robbed from our banks, the hundreds of people left to die in the care of health trusts and the unpaid millions in company taxes.It will seem a little ironic, sitting in a jail cell listening to wrong-doing bankers demand bonuses, tax avoiding companies being given handouts to salve their conscience, and, worst of all, members of health board trusts, responsible for the deaths of so many, facing nothing more than an enquiry, to decide upon the size of their pay-off. Have we abandoned the scales of justice for the scale of a crime?There was a time when bank robbers such as in the great train robbery were sent to jail, serial killers and mass murderers could expect death or life imprisonment, and avoiding taxes meant treason.Could it be true that the next generation will believe crime only relates to individuals and that corporate crime is an entrepreneurial skill to be rewarded, along with the promise of a bigger pension?Might I suggest the authorities make more arrests and make it extremely obvious to the country that wrong-doers will be found in chains with overalls bearing an arrows motif.Alan Bell.Roods,Kirriemuir.Figures clearly show where majority isSir, Bruce Dempsey asks (February 8) what evidence there is to justify claims that there is majority support for the redefinition of marriage.An April 2011 Ipsos-Mori poll of the Religious and Social Attitudes of UK Christians, identified that 33% of respondents stated they had no religion, 54% claimed to be Christian, while a further 10% belonged to some other religious group.Of the Christian group, the focus of the survey, 61% agreed or strongly agreed with the statement that: “Homosexuals should have the same legal rights in all aspects of their lives as heterosexuals.”Interestingly, only 28% of the Christian group believed that sexual relations between two adults of the same sex were wrong.Public resistance to redefinition is coming mainly from Christian organisations, amongst whose own adherents the poll identifies considerable support in favour of redefinition. Support for the principle of equality is not likely to be less amongst the non-religious group and is likely to be much higher.If these figures are extrapolated into the general population, there is the majority that Mr Dempsey seeks.M Duncan.100 Craigie Road,Perth.Discussion out of the questionSir, Your correspondent Captain Ian McRae (Is this what a great nation has come to? February 12), brings home a number of unpalatable truths, with one exception. Councils do have the power to put servicemen at the top of their housing lists, but it appears not to work and, of course, causes resentment.For several years now, I have been trying to provide a 100-home site for ex-servicemen to be able to produce their own affordable homes in Courier country. The nearest large village is one mile from the site, but at my meeting with the village council, I was met with hostility and told in no uncertain terms to forget it discussion was out of the question!My second meeting was with two local council officials, housing and planning. Their attitude towards servicemen was disgraceful.I spent two hours trying to explain the special difficulties servicemen had when, through no fault of their own, they not only lost their job and income but also their homes as well. Because many have had traumatic experiences, they would appreciate living close to each other, where they would understand each others’ problems. If you put a man who has lost a leg on a council estate, he becomes a target for local yobs.The housing official said there was no lack of affordable housing as there was a flat for sale in a local town for £60,000! I showed him photographs of a new four-bedroomed, two-bathroomed house in its own half acre landscaped plot for under £50,000 which the servicemen would produce themselves; this was ignored.I applaud Captain Ian McRae for putting the ex-serviceman’s case so explicitly.Donald Barker.CEO Homes For Heroes, Scotland,5 Linburn House,Auchtermuchty.The deceit is the real issueSir, Re the current horse meat issue I would just say that it is not about whether the meat is good or bad for you, the point is that products were misrepresented. I’ve been a florist all my life and, for example, if I had sent your valentine a bouquet of tulips on the day but chargedyou for roses, I don’t think it would have gone down too well.If I buy pork sausages then, funnily enough, I expect them to contain pork, not what some devious trader wants to pass off as pork.There is also the matter of the injections those animals (not thought to be going into the food chain), were allowed to be given. Heads must roll.Ian Turriff.Albert Road,Broughty Ferry.