UK: PROFESSOR SIR ROLAND SMITH AT CBI CONFERENCE.

Good to see Professor Sir Roland Smith, that great survivor of the corporate jungle, rearing his head again at the CBI conference in Bournemouth. Fresh from his bruising battle at Britain's biggest manufacturer, British Aerospace, the "Prof" was surely the ideal candidate to open the debate on manufacturing. Yet mention of the company never passed his lips. There were plenty of footballing metaphors (the team spirit, dribbling, passing, getting the ball in the net and so forth), reflecting his role as chairman of Manchester United, but nothing about being sent off.