WHEN reading David Torrance (“Like Brown, Sturgeon risks letting the genie out the bottle,” The Herald, September 5), I marked one sentence as it confirmed my earlier thoughts, namely “The once-pragmatic Ms Sturgeon increasingly sounds like an independence-no-matter-what fundamentalist”.

My earlier thoughts were that Torrance does not understand the SNP nor the independence movement.

His unauthorised biography of Alex Salmond (which I bought) should surely have given him some understanding. If not, then Alex’s book, The Dream Shall Never Die, might have given him a clue.

The SNP came into being because of the ignorance and neglect of Scotland by every Westminster government and domination by an overwhelmingly English media.

Initially it referred to Home Rule, but increasingly complex policies and regulations showed that independence was the only true solution; it has never been the case that independence would lead to utopia, nor would we expect that we would get every decision right. But these would be Scottish decisions.

The SNP getting on with “the day job” – as continually bleated by every hue of Unionist – was neatly summed up by today’s cartoon showing Nicola doing the day job, going for growth, to advance the independence cause. Yes, we will attempt to improve matters in Scotland, using all the powers available as Scotland appreciates competence.

However also in today’s Herald I read of an SNP move to close a loophole which allows Scotland to be used as a tax haven by crooks all over the world. The Conservatives rejected any change – no doubt concerned for their City pals.

At last year’s general election Scotland elected one Tory, one Labour and one Lib Dem MP, plus 56 SNP MPs.

As far as I recall there are around 650 MPs in Westminster, so the world is left to trash Scotland’s name at will.

I joined the SNP in 1966 as I believed we could run Scotland better from here than they could from down there.

I am now 81 and that principle has not changed. I suppose that makes me a fundamentalist, too.

Jim Lynch,

42 Corstorphine Hill Crescent,

Edinburgh.