Why I've quit BMC by the man who designed Cortina

DAILY EXPRESS
By David Benson

Car chief Mr Roy Haynes the man who designed the best-selling Cortina spoke last night of his decision to quit BMC just 16 months after being wooed there from Fords.

He said : "There has been a difference of opinion between myself and other directors."

And he strongly denied a claim by British Leyland that he has left because of a decision to shift the firm's design centre from Cowley, near Oxford, to Longbridge, Birmingham.

He added: "The move to Longbridge is not a happy one, but most people are prepared to work in most places. It goes deeper than that. I am leaving for personal reasons and I don't want to elaborate."

A British Leyland spokesman said: "We are very sorry to lose Haynes, but his resignation was because of his domestic commitments in Essex and he did not wish to move to Birmingham."

I understand that Mr Haynes's wife runs a successful business in Essexand refuses to move. Until now Mr Haynes has commuted between Cowley and Danbury, Essex, but the extra distance to Longbridge may have made this impossible.