President's Column: Why we must act to protect our freedoms

The appalling circumstances of Sir David Amess 's death reminds us to that we must do everything we can to cherish and preserve the freedoms we enjoy in a democracy like ours, writes Dr Jason Wouhra.

The brutal murder of the MP for Southend West happened while he was in the act of fulfilling the very essence of our parliamentary system - talking face-to-face to his constituents about their problems and helping to resolve them.

I do believe the time has come for public servants like Sir David to be offered more protection by the police. The risks are so high today that we must overcome the loss of some freedoms to ensure that MPs are safe and protected so that they can carry out their public duties without fear.

Although there must be a robust defence by the authorities, it does not mean we have to lose our culture and values.

Safety must come first and this stretches even wider when you consider that 81 women have allegedly been killed by men since the murder of Sarah Everard on March 3 this year.

That really is a frightening statistic and one that should drive those in power to act now to protect every element of society from a tiny minority of individuals who have no respect for human life.

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My business, Lioncroft Wholesale Ltd, is among most of those in the UK whose exports to the EU have been hit in the wake of Brexit and the global pandemic.

A British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) survey of 2,600 UK exporters confirmed this last week when it revealed that the recovery in export sales has largely stalled in Q3.

The proportion of firms reporting increased sales rose only three points (to 30 per cent) from Q2 (27 per cent), while the proportion reporting decreased sales fell by just two points (Q3:26 per cent/ Q2: 28 per cent).

I agree with William Bain, BCC 's head of trade policy, when he says that more focus needs to be given to lowering business costs with trade partners and addressing non-tariff barriers, which present roadblocks to exports.

As with vexed question of exports to Northern Ireland, a large increase in the documentation needed to send goods into the EU is acting as a barrier to free trade with a group of nations that used to be one of our biggest export markets.

This means that British businesses cannot be competitive on price because of the extra red tape and the value of the pound against the Euro. It seems the EU is deliberately introducing paperwork to slow trade with the UK and the fact that every sovereign state within the market has different regulations.

Seeking new and further-afield markets takes time and expertise and most companies in the UK are not in a position yet to explore to wider destinations because things like checking credit-worthiness and complicated export platforms take time and expense.

Clarity and simplification of red tape is urgently needed by UK businesses in order to get exports levels back up to where they were in pre-Brexit and pre-Covid days. And at the other end of business, we are suffering supply-chain difficulties and in some cases, we have been expecting 20 trucks of stock but only two or three have turned up.

Another situation stifling British business today is the shortage of HGV drivers. More than one multi-national supplier cannot deliver goods to my depot through a lack of drivers, and I think we over-estimated how attractive Britain is to foreign workers.

There is not enough of them to fill the gaps and that is understandable when you consider they are paying higher taxes and exchange rates remain weak.

I know through the experience of one of my drivers that qualifying to drive a heavy goods vehicle is not easy and it takes time. Maybe the time has come to pay more respect to them and only then might we start to address the shortage of 100,000 HGV drivers.

But the problem of easing the shortage of shopfloor workers may be more difficult to crack. Again, Brexit is partly to blame but I feel the work ethic in the UK has changed.

This country has benefited enormously from the influx of generations of hard-working immigrant communities such as those from Asian countries and those who came over from the West Indies on the Windrush, as well as members of European countries who have helped keep our economy moving forward.

Dr Jason Wouhra is president of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce, chair of the West Midlands India Partnership and chief executive of Lioncroft Wholesale Ltd T/A East End Wholesale.