Trading insults
Sir: As a vulgar fellow involved in 'trade', I found parts of Charles Powell's article ('A fundamental incompatibility?' 3 Septem- ber) quite hilarious. He says that, in the face of French tactics, 'the most effective response is knock-for-knock diplomacy, and it's a pity that we do not practise more of it . . In my time at the former Board of Trade, the Department of Trade, and then the Department of Trade and Industry, my colleagues and I tried to put forward this point of view to our Foreign Office col- leagues. The response was always the same. We must not respond in this way because we would 'lose the goodwill' of France, or whatever country was involved. I well recall a meeting with the FCO when a formidable female Under Secretary from the Board of Trade snapped at a laid-back Foreign Office cove, 'But you can't eat goodwill.' Regrettably, the FCO argument prevailed at that meeting, as it always did.
I would dearly love to hear from Charles Powell how we might ensure that his erst- while colleagues in the FCO change their approach. Better still, perhaps that other FCO cove — Douglas Hurd — could write to you again and convince us that things have improved since Charles Powell and I left the government service!
Paul Twyman
Thrift House, Minnis Road, Birchington, Kent
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