NICK GARDNER, since his retirement from the British Government Economics Service, has worked as a consultant to the Monopolies and Mergers Commission. His Civil Service positions included Chief Economist at the Department of Employment. Previously, at the Department of Industry, he was responsible for economic advice on competition policy, and served as a member of both the Mergers Panel and the Liesner committees on monopolies, mergers and restrictive practices. His civil service career followed a career in the engineering industry. He is the author of Decade of Discontent.