It seems only yesterday that leading Japanese industrialists who had heavy (and very welcome) investments in the United Kingdom were calling for the pound to merge with the euro in one grand continental currency.

Now the tune has changed. It is recognized that keeping the pound outside the euro has saved Britain a lot of grief and given its exporters a significant advantage.

Free from the iron grip of a fixed euro exchange rate, the British have been able to take some of the strain caused by deep recession and soaring debt levels through currency adjustment and setting their own interest rates.