Letter: Keep pound strong

Sir: The statement by Eddie George that the pound is too strong to join the single currency ("George talks down sterling", 8 May), should not mislead anyone into thinking that it is therefore too strong for Britain's good - far from it.

Compared with the rate when we entered the EEC (we got eight German marks to the pound then - only three now), it is far from strong, and anyway, no country ever prospered for long with a weak currency.

We should welcome a strengthening pound, with all its benefits such as lower raw-material and freight costs and (if only governments stopped exploiting the situation) lower fuel costs too.

Our disastrous experience in the ERM should be sufficient to persuade us that, as the fifth largest economy in the world, we would be wise to eschew the euro, keep the pound and our independence, and enjoy our growing prosperity.

GERRY HANSON

Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire