Ms Christine Tacon:

Not that I am aware of but I say to people that they must let me know if there are repercussions. When one of the major four retailers looked into an issue it decided that it was in the wrong and, as a result, re-instated the supplier. I asked how one could ensure that the buyer did not take it out on the supplier and remove the supplier at short notice and they said that they had already removed the buyer. Therefore, they recognise that one cannot help but take against somebody that has actually got one into trouble and they had already sorted the matter out.

Another thing that I frequently hear from retailers is that if they find out that somebody is doing this they will fire them. Quite senior people have lost their jobs over issues that I have raised. No supplier has ever said to me that he or she has lost business as a result of my intervention.