'Jobs key in euro debate'

The debate over Britain and the euro was about jobs, “not heads on coins,” Ford of Europe chairman Nick Scheele (right) said at the SMMT Industry Forum Showcase 2000. But this was not the moment for the UK to join.

“It would be wrong to think that the euro is a permanently weak currency,” Mr Scheele said. “It is my belief that, if we are not in the euro zone, we will have continuing problems.

“The debate has to be brought back to a rational level. Our largest trading partner is euroland.”