In a letter to members, BHETA president Andrew Weiss has explained that the BJGF Board has requested a hiatus in the discussions regarding a merger with BHETA until the issue of presidency is resloved.
Mr Weiss has confirmed that he will step down at the next agm, the date for which has now been set for June 3. His letter reads:

Dear Member,

I am writing to update you on developments at BHETA following the latest 'flurry' of releases in various publications.

Firstly I would like to let you know that, after my two year term as President, I will be standing down at the next AGM and will not be seeking re-election. It is in fact my intention to step back from the association. Many of you will be aware that my business, Isaac Lord Ltd, was acquired by new shareholders late last year and as a result my workload here has increased as we seek to develop the business. I have given nearly 15 years to our association, so it is probably time for 'new blood'!

On that theme, you will be aware that Charles Harrison has put himself forward as a candidate for the role of President and I hope that others will also come forward to offer their services. I have found it a very interesting role, not always easy and over the years we have had to take some tough decisions. I am a great believer in 'putting something back' into an industry that has given me so much enjoyment and reward, hence my involvement with the association and Rainy Day Trust. So please think about how you can help and let's have a healthy debate and an inclusive election. It is your association and your responsibility to ensure we have the right people to lead it.

Because of all of the continued public debate over our plans to join with the BJGFF, which incidentally I still firmly believe is the right path for our association to take, we have been asked by their board of directors to suspend discussions until after the matter of the Presidency is resolved. I agree that this is the right move and have asked the executive team to respond accordingly.

Finally, I would like to congratulate all of the staff at Federation House, both new and old, on the very professional way they have continued work through all of this furore. As a member company, we have not noticed any downturn in service or activity and I am confident that you will all continue to receive strong support through some fairly turbulent trading conditions.

I look forward to meeting as many of you as possible at the AGM, which is planned for 3rd June 2010.

With best wishes,

Andrew Weiss