Letter: Triumphant tones of Merseyside

Sir: At the risk of confirming the prejudice in your leading article of 1 April about Merseysiders' inclination to whinge ("Voices with an accent on trust"), I feel I must moan about the Independent's blinkered view of Merseyside's telephone manner.

The region has a long and successful history of providing telephone-based services for the likes of Littlewoods, Barclays and Royal Insurance. Most recently, QVC, Britain's first TV shopping channel, has announced a pounds 14m investment in building a telephone "call centre" in Merseyside.

After a two-year trial, they liked what they heard so much that they are creating 1,100 jobs.

Christopher Gibaud

Chief Executive

The Mersey Partnership

Liverpool