31 January 2002, London:

The following comment on ISO's press release was made today by Tim Inman, Chief Executive of the Association of British Certification Bodies (ABCB). The ABCB's mission is to promote itself as the UK's centre of excellence for product, quality management and environmental certification for the benefit of its members.

"In regard to Dr Eicher's comments, ABCB does not consider that the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, UKAS, accredited certification industry in the UK lacks integrity. UKAS is exemplary in the exercise of its accreditation responsibilities, which include the investigation of complaints of malpractice by certification bodies.

"In order to illustrate to a wider audience that UKAS effectively polices accreditation ABCB has pressed for the publication of statistics of sanctions imposed upon certification bodies. In response, UKAS has established a Working Group to examine how best to take the ABCB proposal forward. When introduced, the publication of such statistics should provide an important indicator of the integrity of UKAS accreditation.

"It is thought, however, that the complaints to which Dr Eicher refers may arise, in part at least, from the activities of certification bodies who choose to be un-accredited or who are accredited by accreditors who are not recognised by their national governments or by either EA or IAF.

"UKAS and similar recognised accreditation bodies are powerless to police the activities of such certification bodies. These organisations rely heavily upon market-place ignorance to ply their trade. The conformity assessment community, including ISO, could make greater efforts to dispel this ignorance. UKAS, in particular, is applauded for its current Accreditation Awareness Campaign. Rhetoric is not enough and it is hoped that, spurred by Dr Eicher's comments, others will now follow the UKAS lead".