THE national and international fuss about whether a wee lassie should lose British citizenship because of the atrocities for which she is not remotely responsible is, in my opinion, just another distraction from the political mess Britain is in through Brexit. The political leaders, on behalf of what I would call their puppet masters, have always created distractions when their backs are against the wall.

It is my opinion that when we elect prime ministers, we really elect prime lackeys of the British Establishment and of big business.

Read more: Jihadi bride Shamima Begum slams 'unjust' decision to revoke her British citizenship

That said, try if you can, to compare this wee lassie's rightly or wrongly immature beliefs, with the mindset that led to the mass slaughter, on orders of British Prime Ministers – from Margaret Thatcher through to Tony Blair – of millions of innocent citizens in the Middle East in the last 20 years, including hundreds of thousands of children under the age of five.

How can the British Establishment now have the colossal gall to divert the discourse from (a) what amounted to war crimes against innocent people at that time, unsanctioned by the United Nations Security Council, and from (b) the present Brexit, political disorder, to a young mum trying to keep two lives extant?

William Burns,

10 Briery Bauks, Edinburgh.

I WAS genuinely moved by the letter from the Rev David A Collins (February 21). Shamefully as a church-going Christian I must admit that my first reaction to the Shamima Begum case was "hell mend her". But hell doesn't mend, as we can see in all of the world's conflicts. It destroys.

I now fully agree with the Rev. Collins that we should embrace this mother and child with mature love – transformative love that recognises the vulnerability and weakness of both and also ensures that if she returns with her child that all necessary actions are taken by the authorities to protect our communities here.

Roddy MacDonald,

1 Glenmount Place, Ayr.