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Andy Haines, the new president of the Freight Transport Association (FTA), says the association's priority remains to create a level playing field for UK transport firms with their Continental counterparts. "People get very vitriolic about foreign vehicles - we don't have an issue with foreign trucks, the issue is about being able to compete fairly, that's the challenge and we won't give up that fight," he promises.

Haines was part of the joint FTA and Road Haulage Assoc-iation (RHA) delegation  that unsuccessfully lobbied the Treasury on Friday 28 Sep-tember to postpone the 2p/litre fuel duty rise that took place earlier this week.

Haines, who works for sugar refiner Tate & Lyle, says that although his style of management is different to the role's two previous incumbents, as he has different strengths, the FTA's ultimate goal will not change: "I'm sure we are different in our approach and see things in a slightly different way, but where we are trying to get to remains the same."

He adds: "The one thing that neither ourselves or the RHA will do is to give up. The world doesn't rest on this 2p, it's part of a number of issues that we need to resolve. We have to see some improvement and we are not going to stop cam-paigning for that. The way forward has to be a cerebral approach and thinking through the right solutions."