AT the height of the Brexit referendum, Thomas Mair, a Britain First-supporting terrorist, murdered MP Jo Cox. After the murder police found Mair possessed press clippings about Jo Cox and the referendum as well as material on Norwegian mass killer Ander Breivik. Despite this, a choice was made by the CPS not to include Mair’s political motivation for killing Jo Cox in his trial.

During the EU referendum campaign, Nigel Farage echoed the notorious speech of Enoch Powell, who said if immigration into Britain was not halted: “Like the Roman, I seem to see ‘the River Tiber foaming with much blood.’” Farage said: “I think it’s legitimate to say that if people feel they have lost control completely, and we have lost control of our borders completely as members of the EU, and if people feel voting doesn’t change anything, then violence is the next step.” One month later Jo Cox was dead.

This matters because Donald Trump is now retweeting Britain First’s propaganda. Trump’s strategy is to incite his fascistic base to violence towards Muslims and other “enemies”. That Trump promotes these fascistic elements is a demonstration of the decomposition of democratic norms. This is occurring due to unprecedented levels of inequality. It is not an aberration but a deliberate strategy.

Theresa May’s tepid rebuke of Trump underscores the reality that the UK relies on securing increased US trade to offset the economic chaos Brexit will bring.
Alan Hinnrichs
Dundee

WITH his latest outburst on Twitter, the White House windbag has shown the world how much further down the line of mental instability he has gone. Firstly, he re-tweets videos from Britain First and its deputy leader Jayda Fransen, then he follows that lapse in judgement with a personal attack on Theresa May and the UK. I have nothing against anyone having a go at May, but I strongly disagree with him taking a pop at Scotland where we are working hard to combat this type of garbage.

Fransen is a religious and racist extremist and has a history of religiously aggravated harassment – just the kind of politician that is not needed in this country. But, alas, she has a foothold and sows seeds of hate among like-minded knuckle-draggers who are intent on causing division within communities. Her pathetic party garners little support at the ballot box so does its work mainly on social media. Spot the similarities with the man who re-tweeted her videos? The fact the three videos have been debunked as very misleading doesn’t bother either Fransen or Trump. What is very concerning is that Trump came to view them in the first place!

It speaks volumes about how he spends his time trawling through right-wing trash sites and being spoon-fed fake news via Breitbart and Fox news. Trump should not be viewing this kind of rubbish as it simply plays into his distorted world-view, and those around him should be hanging their heads in shame that he has publicly bad-mouthed another prime minister, and the country to boot, and he has, by his naive behaviour, only served to highlight Britain First. Well done Donald, you really are a klutz.

Will all this finally put paid to his state visit? Unlikely as May has to sit and take all the venom and spite he cares to throw at her in order to ensure the “wonderful” trade deals happen after Brexit. Scotland, meantime, must continue on its path of inclusivity and work tirelessly at having communities so diverse and vibrant that the peddlers of hate cannot and will not get a foothold.

We need to denounce the likes of Fransen and Trump and all the others who spew out the politics of hate and division and be on our guard for, and always be prepared to call out, these cretins as and when they appear.
Ade Hegney
Helensburgh

I AM writing to express my concern regarding the latest re-tweet by the president of the US which shows an unbalanced, incorrect and completely wrong impression of Islam and I fear that this will serve only to stir up more hatred.

It is shocking President Trump would re-tweet the tweets without knowing the background or the context. These videos give totally unbalanced and wrong impression of Islam and serve only to stoke up hatred.

Islam is a religion of peace and inclusivity. Actions of few should not be taken to represent the whole religion of Islam as doing this will lead to further misunderstandings and mistrust. We feel that dialogue is the right way to go forward where people way. I fear that this latest tweet will cause more chaos, hatred and conflict.
Bilal Ahmad Barlas
Member of Ahmadiyya Community
Glasgow

IT has become apparent the UK Government’s Brexit strategy is born out of Baldrick’s cunning “no plan”, guaranteed to mystify EU negotiators. Contributions from the Opposition have done little to improve a dire situation.

Helpful proposals such as Eire paying for a hard border with NI can best be described as a lot of Hooey. Meanwhile, the US, Canada, Australia and Japan have made it clear isolationist GB can expect no special deals if we leave the EU.

We’re watching a train crash in slow motion. Cheer up – the worst is yet to come!
James Stevenson
Auchterarder

WHEN Conservatives accuse the SNP of hijacking the St Andrew’s flag for political use they should be reminded the Scots Conservatives’ logo is a stylised saltire.
Alasdair Smith
Newton Mearns