The article entitled WSC claims conflict of interest (The Sunday Times, June 10) took me totally by surprise and left me with a sense of absolute bewilderment.

Any reader who was impartial to the situation and had no idea who Marco Cremona was would have had a rather negative impression of the chap - someone who would put his personal interests before anything else.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Marco Cremona for the best part of 20 years. Marco has always excelled at what he has done - be it swotting through university or trudging his way through many a footballing battle.

The quality that has always really impressed me about the man is his deep sense of conscientiousness - the humane factor within. Marco has always managed to find the time to apply his profound knowledge and prowess within the field of hydro-engineering to the betterment of a situation - however bleak and with whatever odds.

This was typically exemplified by his travels to Kenya with the Mission Fund and to Sri Lanka following the post-tsunami mass devastation crisis, where his sole intention was one - that of assisting people in need.

I have very vivid memories of the summit night on Kilimanjaro where everyone's sole goal was making it to the top. The cold was intense and hurricane-strength winds did nothing to ease the situation. Fatigue was written across everyone's faces.

Marco, totally against the grain of the situation, made his way back down the mountain (risking personal success) to the tail-enders of the contingent to encourage them on. He really was a shining star that memorable night. God only knows where he found the strength and resolve - and this to me was a sign of greatness.

Like the rest of the contingent, the man showed his absolute altruism by paying his way to Tanzania and duly absorbing all the (considerable) expenses for the honour of the cause - building a school in Ethiopia. Are we sure we are referring to the same person?