A leading Richmond consultant has called on the Government to use the demise of Link to everyone’s advantage.

In an open letter to Mark Prisk and Vince Cable, Steve Mullins outlined his experiences with the Link.

He was a founder member of the Richmond Business Link and helped 1,000 small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the past 20 years.

He said: “I am distressed that a resource as potent as the Business Link has been progressively squandered and will now be disbanded, but I feel there is much to be learned from it in delivering support to SMEs, which will play a progressively important role in the recovery of this country.

“Right now, there is in place the competence, connections and infrastructure to deliver practical support to SMEs based on the original Business Link principles; some of this can surely be built on for the changes that are to come.”