'Voice of business' out at IoD

RUTH LEA, one of Britain's best known and outspoken economists, is leaving the Institute of Directors amid reports of a serious falling-out at the employers' organisation.

Lea, 56, who has worked at the IoD for the past eight years, is the voice of British business for millions of television viewers and radio listeners, regularly appearing with her often controversial comments on corporate and economic issues.

She was formerly ITN's economics editor and had a long career in the City as an economist with a number of investment banks before she became head of the IoD's Policy Unit in 1995.

It is believed that Lea is in the process of negotiating the terms of her departure from the Pall Mall-based Institute. She was not immediately available for comment.

A spokesman for the IoD refused to confirm her departure but said: 'A review of all areas of the Institute recently clearly covered our Policy Unit and as a result of its conclusions the post of head of the policy unit was effectively redundant.'

But outsiders suggest there may have been a more fundamental falling-out between the reactionary and often controversial Lea and the membership of the IoD.

Some pointed out that the IoD has not enamoured itself to the Blair Government in quite the same way that the CBI under director-general Digby Jones has done.

A spokeswoman at the IoD denied this but added: 'The review looked at aligning things a lot more with what our members are doing in the regions. We want to be able to represent our members' views better to Government.'

That may be taken to suggest that Lea's often outspoken criticism of Government policy did not necessarily chime well with the rank and file opinions of the people running Britain's small and medium-sized businesses.

Lea's list of publications range far and wide across public policy including Education and Training: A Blueprint for Reform, Healthcare in the UK: The Need for Reform, CAP: A Catalogue of Failure and The Work-Life Balance and All That. The Reregulation of the Labour Market.

Her salary at the IoD is not made public but she is believed to be the second most highly-paid individual there after director-general George Cox, who is said to be on a package worth £200,000. Any compensation package is likely to be generous.

Lea has had a varied career and prior to joining ITN, worked in the City. She spent more than five years at Mitsubishi Bank, rising to chief economist, and was subsequently employed by Lehman Brothers as chief UK economist.

Before that, she spent 16 years as a senior civil servant at the Treasury, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Central Statistical Office.

She also had a stint teaching economics at Thames Polytechnic (now Greenwich University). Unmarried she lives in north London.