AFTER the Bank of England launched its new £5 plastic note they were inundated with complains from animal rights groups and vegetarians after it emerged that the notes contained tiny amounts of tallow, an animal fat found in candles and soap.

After a £100,000 investigation showing that animal products make up less than 0.05 per cent the bank concluded that the notes would not be changed.

It would have cost taxpayers £16.5 million.

The only alternative available was palm oil which has led to deforestation as trees were cleared to grow palms.

This led to orangutans and Sumatran tigers losing some of their habitat.

The bank report also highlighted that many other everyday items such as bank cards and mobile phones contain tallow.

Why do we pander to every whim of every pressure group?

Pressure groups should, if their belief is strong, fund legal proceedings.

However I bet a plastic fiver that they won’t and they won’t stop moaning.

Clark Cross, by email

No more humps

READING about the changes to bus lanes (Evening Times August 14), I’d be interested to know why the council spokesman thinks that vehicle emissions are reduced by having a long queue of non-bus traffic forced to queue in half the width of the road formerly available, often when there is not a bus in sight.

It’s not exactly ‘keeping the city moving’’ is it?

If we don’t need 24 hour bus lanes, perhaps we don’t need 24 hour traffic lights either, as there is little traffic during the small hours.

Hopefully, the next ET campaign will be to get rid of all the unnecessary road humps from Glasgow’s roads, otherwise we may as well have kept the cobbles.

Surely emergency vehicles displaying blue lights and on the way to an emergency should be allowed to use bus lanes?

Ronnie Simpson, posted online

Punish guilty

COMMON sense re the bus lanes at last but having said that there are still the many illiterate drivers who use the lanes when they are operating so hopefully they will still be penalised.

Paul Strathdee, posted online

Sense at last

WELL done to the new sensible SNP led council over the bus lane changes.

Oh that the good folks of Glasgow had seen the light and voted SNP at previous elections, then many of these stupid excessive fines would never have been levied.

Harry Molloy, posted online