BT has reaffirmed its commitment to graduate recruitment in spite of the suspension of its graduate scheme.

In a letter to the the Financial Times today, BT's chairman Sir Michael Rake, said: "I am a passionate believer in the importance of education and training. BT will continue to recruit and nurture bright young people, which is the right thing to do for the company and for the countries in which we operate."

On Monday HR magazine reported that the firm, which last year took on 130 graduates, had suspended the scheme because of pressure on staff numbers during the recession.

But Rake today said: "As BT has found itself at the centre of a debate about graduate recruitment, I thought it would be useful to make the company's position clear. We are proud to be a major employer in the UK and around the world. In the past five years we have recruited around a thousand young graduates and post-graduates and well over a thousand apprentices.

"The flurry of press stories has been sparked by news that we are not planning to take part in this year's university milk round. That's because we will reduce the number of graduates we take on next year (2010), and can meet our needs outside this annual recruitment fair.  I am certain we will be accelerating our graduate recruitment again before long."