Large suppliers hate innovation because it disturbs the status quo and it could threaten their dominance and profits (Innovation gets risk assessment).

Accordingly, at their behest, UK government has been forced - by dint of threatened withdrawal of consultancies, directorships, lecture tours and so on for MPs and senior civil servants in their dotage - to go to a great deal of trouble to eliminate small, innovative companies from public sector contracts.

For example, all NHS IT contracts are solely with the big five. Look at any public contract IT pre-qualification questionnaire and you will see that it is impossible for a small UK company to meet the criteria, thus they are eliminated. The contract goes to the big suppliers for up to 10 times the cost and they outsource the work to the third world to maximise their megaprofits.

In the US, public bodies are compelled to use a proportion of their expenditure on small companies, and until similar legislation is applied in the UK, innovation will continue to be stifled and the new industry leaders of the future will never be UK companies.

Name withheld on request