They, as we do, supply products that are safety critical and we have always found them uncompromising in their attitude to quality and reliability. In an increasingly competitive market this is an admirable quality that is sadly lacking in many other areas.

Your publication, however, seems to glory in the McMurdo situation illustrated by banner headlines that would most befit a red-header tabloid than a serious trade magazine.

McMurdo have managed to significantly improve their share of the US market which, in the face of still local competition, is no mean feat. You have totally ignored this very important point and the fact that you, as a UK based organisation, should be supporting UK exports not highly biased articles to make it even harder.

W Phillips Managing Director Cosalt International Limited From the editor:

Well Mr Philips, I have to say BB was also somewhat perturbed to read of the failure of McMurdo's products in Doug Ritter's tests. Then we were further perturbed to read that for two years, McMurdo products had caused a great deal of concern among USCG service personnel who have to use them.

So we reported the concerns and the test results. And we will be happy to report the results when McMurdo products perform to the standards consumers ought to be able to expect from products designed to save lives.

In our modest opinion, concerns about the performance of products designed to save lives take precedence over concerns about how well the company's directors are performing for their US market share and Chemring plc's shareholders. PN