I write not as a representative of the independent part of our retail industry, but as someone who has enjoyed a fantastic career in a business that I honestly love. I'm prompted to write after reading BRC director general Kevin Hawkins' defence of the Supermarkets Code of Practice, which was written in the style of a petulant schoolboy (The Grocer, 25 August, p21). Not only was the article sarcastic about other people's opinions, it also contained the cheap and patently untrue observation that during the floods, supermarkets supplied communities with water while independents tried to profiteer. However, a search of the BBC website reveals only one such story, which quotes unscrupulous retailers and hoteliers pushing up prices and a trader selling from a white van parked in a supermarket car park. I have seen so much debate about the power of the supermarkets and how their potential to change the face of retailing is being exercised for good or evil - depending on your viewpoint - that I am rarely surprised by some of the claims and counter claims. However, what affected me about this particular article was that the leader of one of the most respected trade bodies in the UK was belittling the views of alternative bodies in a style that was dismissive in the extreme and used a spurious story to diminish the integrity of some of its members. Some of the competitive issues that face us as retailers and suppliers over coming years will require us to recognise the need to work collectively for the good of the sector. We need to demonstrate we can act responsibly and reinforce customer trust in the industry. So surely there is an even greater need for organisations such as the BRC to lead these types of debates in a balanced and moderate way, encompassing all retail interests?