I am chuckling as I write this. The last time I was told by a company executive that he would not employ fat people was when I was a guest on a Five Live phone in. Like Duncan Bannatyne, the Dragon's Den entrepreneur who caused a storm over the weekend by declaring that overweight workers were lazy, he was certain that fat people were an inferior species in the workplace and could not possibly work as well as his thinner employees. Secure in the belief that he was only identifiable by his first name, he poured out his venom against fat people. A tabloid newspaper tracked him down, outed him and he left the country.

When I was in hospital a few years ago, I had reason to be deeply grateful to the nurses there for the care I received. Not least among them was a woman weighing, I would guess, around 17 stone. Like her colleagues, she rushed about all day long, upstairs and down, in and out of wards and offices. She didn't tire unduly, move slowly or bump into the furniture. In every way she was the equal of the other nurses, which was probably why she held a senior position.

I could give many more examples, but is there any point? This kind of prejudice, voiced by someone who clearly has no evidence, only unsubstantiated opinions, is risible. Bannatyne states: "It's clear if people who are fat are not working as hard as people who are not fat, then it's to do with their weight. It's not my job to explain it; it's a fact." This is a reductio ad absurdum. It must, therefore, also be clear that if anyone who is thin or has red hair is found not to be working as hard as their fat, brown-haired colleagues, then it is the fault of their thinness or hair colour.

The Obesity and Solutions Trust states that Bannatyne is out of touch with the causes of obesity. I think this is irrelevant. The causes of obesity are many and complex, but what we are dealing with here is the fascist assumption about a fat person's mental and physical ability. Bannatyne is only capable of dealing in stereotypes but he confuses them. He says:

"If someone came to me who was 20 stone, a cigarette hanging from their lip and carrying a beer bottle, would I be more inclined to employ that person or a person who's looked after themselves, goes to the gym, is fit and takes pride in their appearance?"

Stupid man! Would he employ the above - fag, beer bottle, etc - if they were thin?!

There will always be people like Bannatyne. Twenty years ago I was refused promotion at the BBC, and was told the reason was that my weight "did not present a good image of the corporation". And I was working for BBC radio! Please - don't let us take these men of little brain too seriously. They don't have the mental acuity for serious discussion or the ability to understand the diversity of human beings.