Letter: Business surveys

Sir: Nick Herbert of Business for Sterling accuses the CBI, not for the first time, of having ruled out a "completely random survey of business" last year (Right of Reply, 9 April). This is quite untrue.

The decision we reached last summer was twofold. First, to encourage The Financial Times to conduct a completely random survey of business and to accept their results as a good measure of opinion when they came out. And second, to focus the CBI Survey, as before, on CBI members, thus allowing comparison with previous surveys.

This would be made quite clear from the minutes which Mr Herbert quotes, if he would only cease quoting one sentence out of context of the sentence immediately following.

ADAIR TURNER

CBI Director-General

London WC1