Thursday, July 09, 2009
MG Rover bosses accuse Brown of blocking financial aid
The four former directors of MG Rover have accused Gordon Brown of blocking state aid to save the company from collapse four years ago.
John Towers, Nick Stephenson, John Edwards and Peter Beale, who have been criticised for making tens of millions of pounds from the car company before its collapse, have released a 20-page report claiming that Tony Blair, the then Prime Minister, wanted to save MG Rover.
However, the men claimed in the dossier that plans to advance a £120 million loan to the company were blocked in April 2005 by Mr Brown, who was then the Chancellor.
As a result, the company collapsed. This week Business Secretary Lord Mandelson confirmed that the Serious Fraud Office was looking the case for a criminal investigation into the collapse of the company.
The dossier compiled by the four men said: "The Government is doing and will do anything to disguise the role played by senior political figures in the closure of MG Rover."
The report also claimed that the Department of Trade and Industry "not only failed to support MG Rover but they poured millions of pounds into rival foreign manufacturers such as Ford, Nissan, BMW, Vauxhall and Peugeot".
However, the allegations that Mr Brown 'pulled the plug' on MG Rover have been flatly denied by the Government.
DATED: 09.07.09
FEED: AW
