No blank cheque for car industry
Updated on 27 January 2009
The government will provide guarantees of up to £1.3bn to the car manufacturers, but Lord Mandelson warns it is not a bailout.
This industry is not a lame duck and this is not a bailout, the government insists, as it offers the car industry loan guarantees worth more than £2bn.
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson said he was not offering struggling firms a blank cheque. But the cash would unlock £1.3bn of loans from Europe to fund investment in eco-friendly vehicles.
The Conservatives dismissed the package as "pretty small beer", while union leaders said it was a fraction of the support being offered elsewhere in Europe.
Lord Mandelson
Business Secretary Lord Mandelson joins Jon Snow from Westminster.
