Rover: Hewitt raises deal hopes

TRADE and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt today kept alive hopes that collapsed carmaker MG Rover could be bailed out by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), saying the Government was working on fresh plans to present to the Chinese company.

Hewitt also confirmed that Government financial aid that has so far safeguarded jobs at MG Rover's Longbridge plant could be extended, depending on the progress made developing rescue plans.

'All of our focus and all of our work is on getting the right proposals to the Chinese. We will review the funding in the light of this work,' she said at Labour's manifesto launch today.

Chancellor Gordon Brown added: 'The sooner this matter is resolved with the Chinese, the better.'

Hewitt's line appears at odds with official comments from SAIC, which has further distanced itself from investing in the failed firm after the collapse of talks about a joint venture with MG Rover. The company is now in administration.

The Government's single aim of reviving the Chinese deal also appears to contradict company administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers, which has said it is considering a number of approaches for the firm.