Tory leader attacks government record on Rover
Tory leader Michael Howard has accused the prime minister and chancellor of acting too slowly over the crisis facing carmaker MG Rover.
Michael Howard said MG Rover was a huge part of the UK economy and claimed the government had a share of the blame in the company going into administration.
Mr Howard said the government must have been aware of the looming crisis for at least a year and had “got involved at far too late a stage”.
“They seem to have been very slow and very late into the business of seeing what they could do to help,” he said.
“I would do everything I could to help Rover survive. It’s a hugely important part of our economy, not only of the economy of the West Midlands but of the country as a whole.”
Yesterday, Gordon Brown said the government was willing to give more cash on top of the £40 million it has pledged to help suppliers hit by the MG Rover crisis.
He also suggested that an investigation might be launched into levels of executive pay at the car manufacturer.
Lib Dem leader Charles Kennedy told the BBC that the government had had waited for the “59th minute of the 11th hour” to intervene in the Rover crisis.
Mr Kennedy told the BBC’s Breakfast with Frost programme that the government should have negotiated with the Chinese “much better”.
More than 6,000 MG Rover jobs are at risk after talks with China’s SAIC failed and Rover was forced to call in accountants Price Waterhouse Coopers. Administrators are now assessing whether or not jobs and parts of the company can be saved.
