Getting Burnt

That Russell Hobbs has withdrawn thousands of irons after customers have reported them bursting into flames in their hands should come as no surprise. The company knew about the problem for sometime before withdrawing the faulty models. 'Tim Wright, the vice-president of Spectrum Brands, Russell Hobbs parent company, admitted the company discovered the problem 18 months ago, and apologised for all who had been hurt. ..... Questioned about the delay in recalling the faulty products, he said: "We did actually discover it over a year ago as you say. We recognised that we had a flex in our irons which is actually UK and European compliant, but in certain occasions was causing an issue.' (Daily Telegraph, 6 December) The whole motive force of capitalism is to make a profit. Everything else is secondary including safety. RD