Sir Jones Quotations

We are never going to win the argument unless we put our head over the parapet.

Anyone with a foreign language under their belt, whether at GCSE, A-level or as a graduate, will have an immediate advantage in the job market because they can deliver their company an edge in the world market.

They represent a growing market for value-added goods that we can produce and deliver.

It will be the unwitting customers who, as always when countries indulge in protectionism, end up having to pay more money.

They will want to know why the Government has deprived them, and their families, of this opportunity. This flies in the face of everything the country is trying to achieve on skills. Computer literacy has to be a given in a globally competitive economy.

I am not talking about us introducing our own protectionist measures - that would be disastrous - but I would like to see Mr Blair publicly asking for explanations from his Spanish counterpart about how he justifies protecting local industry.

I don't want to live in a Britain where we ban overseas companies but you can't expect Britain to go on and watch other countries change the rules when they want to.