I AM becoming increasingly irked by the constant sniping aimed at Kezia Dugdale. She seems to me to be a perfectly nice woman who possibly behaved somewhat foolishly. Ms Dugdale has been for some time nothing more than a backbench MSP.

I trust the self-righteous will now leave her alone. By the way I am not Labour – I have been a member of the SNP for 55 years.

R Mill Irving
Gifford

THE controversy over how much Kezia was paid for her jungle jolly, and how much she is giving to charity, misses the point (‘I’m a celebrity ... you’re not getting that much out of me’ says Kez, The National, January 13).

She is paid by the taxpayer to do a job. She didn’t do that job, but was still paid – what she did with the money is irrelevant, as is how much her “homer” earned her.

Imagine if a teacher took unauthorised time off during term. I would think their employer would take the view that the money was supposed to provide a teacher for a class, not a donation to charity.

She should be getting a final written warning for dereliction of duty/gross misconduct/misuse of public funds, not a promotion.

Jim Palmer
Strathaven