Letter: Anti-euro tycoons

Sir: Where do these anti-euro tycoons come from with a half-mad glint in their eyes?

Paul Sykes's attitude smacks of churlishness ("Tycoon plans anti-euro campaign", 26 August). The bottom line is that EMU will happen on 1 January 1999 and 11 countries will enter it, and hundreds of millions of people with them. This will result in most government debt being redenominated in euros, all equities being repriced in euros and all derivatives being redenominated to euros and the redenomination of most corporate debt during the next three years.

It also appears, if rumours are to be believed, that a number of FTSE- 100 companies are already looking to redenominate their share capital in the first quarter of next year even though the UK will not enter EMU.

Whatever the views of Paul Sykes, or for that matter the British people, EMU is a reality and the political and economic pressures to ensure it succeeds are staggering. Ultimately, if EMU works, the British people will decide to enter even if the their decision is based on purely selfish motives of getting a piece of the pie for themselves.

NEIL THEWLIS

London SW14