Sir, Antonia Senior (Opinion, Jan 15) and your leading article (Jan 15 ) both state that Lord Mandelson’s interference in the Cadbury takeover is wrong. Cadbury’s has been a great British company, setting the standard for employer responsibility toward the workforce. Our other confectionary companies, Rowntree and Mackintosh, taken over by Nestl?, have practically disappeared as employers from our shores.
The problem is that it is this attitude of market forces prevailing that has decimated our industrial output. It is not so in Germany, nor in France. Both those nations have bounced back from recession far quicker than us because they actually make something and export. We should follow their example.
Adrienne May
North Walsham, Norfolk