Letter: Manifesto for recovery

Sir: With reference to your manifesto for recovery, might I suggest that an independent Bank of England is not a desirable aim. Surely our current economic crisis, and possibly Europe's future economic crisis, is a direct result of Germany's independent central bank refusing to lower interest rates, which may keep inflation down in Germany at the expense of the break-up of the ERM, mass unemployment and who knows what political unrest in the future.

We may not trust politicians but at least they respond to public opinion. Given the example of the German central bankers, we are lucky our central bank is not independent.

Yours faithfully,

DAVID LEWIS

London, NW6