By Andrew Woodcock, Political Correspondent, PA News
An angry Stephen Byers today accused German carmaker BMW of secretiveness
over the sell-off of Rover which had undermined the chances of providing a
regeneration package for the West Midlands.
The Trade and Industry Secretary said he had been misled at a meeting with
BMW director Prof Werner Samann just six days before the sale was officially
confirmed where the company was still assuring him that plans were in place
to reduce losses at Rover.
It is understood that Prof Samann later apologised to Mr Byers, saying that
he was unable to discuss the sale with him for reasons of commercial
confidentiality.
Mr Byers told Sky News's Sunday with Adam Boulton programme: "I had a meeting
on March 10 - six days before the BMW supervisory board met and made its
announcement about Longbridge.
"At that meeting, Prof Samann went through the losses that were being
incurred and would be reported to the board, but gave no indication
whatsoever that part of their strategy was to break up Rover and sell
Longbridge.
"I opened that meeting by saying that I wanted a full and frank exchange of
views because it was important for the British Government to know BMW's
intentions with regard to Rover in the UK.
"Indeed they went through their strategy to deal with the losses of £2
million a day and nowhere in that was there an indication that the break-up
of Rover and the disposal of Longbridge was even in their thinking.
"What most companies would have done in a similar situation would have been
to take the Government into their confidence so that we could have planned
with them to manage the changes that would be necessary.
"BMW, by not disclosing their strategy, by keeping the Government in the dark
and misleading ministers like myself, did not allow us to put in place a
programme that at this time will be desperately needed."
Meanwhile, doubts emerged today over whether a different buyer might be found
for Rover.
Mr Byers has said that a window of opportunity of two or three months exists
to find a purchaser among the big players of the world automobile industry,
who might be able to ensure a long-term future for Rover as a large-scale
manufacturer.
But Jon Moulton, managing partner of Rover's prospective purchaser Alchemy,
said today that his group's deal with BMW had reached a stage where the
German company could no longer back out.
He told BBC1's Breakfast with Frost: "There is a done deal. They are going to
carry it through. They can't negotiate with other parties at the moment."
Mr Moulton said that the deal involved BMW covering all of Rover's
liabilities, including redundancy payments, and leaving Alchemy with enough
capital to get a new business started.
Commenting on the terms of the deal, which provide for Alchemy to negotiate
redundancy terms which will be paid for by BMW, Mr Moulton said: "I notice
that Mr Byers is looking to BMW to pay compensation. Arguably, they have
already done it."
Transport and General Workers Union general secretary Bill Morris said that
strike action did not represent "the immediate option" for those affected by
uncertainty at Longbridge.
His union's message to the British people was to support British jobs by
buying Rover cars rather than BMWs, he said, though he stopped short of
explicitly calling for a boycott of the German brand.
Mr Morris told Breakfast with Frost that Alchemy's failure to express a
long-term commitment to Rover might stand in the way of Government support
for the company.
He told Mr Moulton: "If you are saying all you can see is five years as a
long-term strategy for this major company, you can't expect the Government to
come in and give public support on the basis of five years.
"We have got the budget next week. I want to be saying to the Chancellor:
`Please make a significant gesture to British manufacturers and the car
industry using fiscal measures'.
"But if it is only for three, four or five years, then frankly we are not
going to convince the Government to do that."
Mr Moulton confirmed that his company was not ruling out selling Rover on
after five years, but insisted that this did not mean that the company had no
long term future.
He said: "The fact that we might own it for five years doesn't mean that the
company has a five-year strategy. The company can have a 20-year strategy.
"If we are going to sell it for the best for our investors, it will be sold
with a good future in front of it."
Mr Moulton refused to give any estimates of how many job losses there would
be among Longbridge's 9,000 staff.
He repeated that Alchemy's strategy was to turn Rover into a "niche" sports
car manufacturer under the MG name, producing less than 100,000 cars a year -
well down on its current 250,000.
He added: "We have no desire to maintain the workforce other than at that
level that provides secure and good jobs for the future in a viable business.
"We are going for a niche strategy, a medium-volume car producer, using
technology developed in the UK - the Lotus approach to new models to enable
things to work."
The renamed MG company would aim to "replicate on a somewhat larger scale the
success of Lotus", he said.
Mr Moulton had encouraging words for the Cowley plant in Oxford, where BMW is
to construct Rover 75s for Alchemy on a contract basis.
The Alchemy chief described the 75 as "a great car" which had failed to sell
in larger numbers only because of the uncertainty surrounding its ownership.
He said: "We believe that we can reverse that and we can get that particular
car to prosper."
Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy said that the Government should bear
a large portion of the blame for Rover's problems because of its
unwillingness to commit Britain to the European single currency.
He told Breakfast with Frost: "The Government have to bear their share of the
responsibility and stop trying to blame everybody else."
"We have been arguing consistently and alone since the last election that the
Government has got to give a lead on Europe in general and the euro in
particular.
"They haven't, and we have seen the strength of sterling and the problem with
interest rates. Had there been a more unambiguous commitment to the euro,
there is no doubt these problems would have been lessened.
"That might not have saved Rover, but it certainly wouldn't have left Rover
in its current predicament."
Liberal Democrat leader Mr Kennedy later accused Tony Blair of "a lamentable
failure" of leadership over the euro which had made a bad situation for Rover
"immeasurably worse".
Speaking at his party's spring conference in Plymouth Mr Kennedy said: "A
lamentable failure of this Government - and we have warned them and warned
them - to give leadership on the European issue, not least with regard to the
euro and its impact on the exchange rate, has made a bad situation for Rover
immeasurably worse.
"I hope that lesson is learned in Number 10 Downing Street and we start
getting the leadership this country so sorely needs."
The Industrial Society today called for changes to industrial relations law
to ensure that the situation at Rover, where workers learned of the threat to
their jobs from the media, was not repeated.
A system similar to one in Germany, where larger companies such as BMW are
obliged to have worker representation on their boards as well as an elected
works council, would ensure that major upheavals such as a sell-off would not
come as a surprise to employees, said the Society.
A spokesman said: "UK law is weak on consultation. During the last 20 years,
it has largely concentrated on individual rights. Even when dealing with
collective issues the main thrust has been to free trade unions from legal
fetters restricting union action, rather than to create a meaningful dialogue
between employer and employee.
"The Rover unions and representatives were not entitled to any prior
consultation, they were presented with a fait accompli and had no legal
grounds for complaint.
"Compared with the rights available to German employees, UK employment law is
weak on workforce consultation and should be reformed."
Asked whether he accepted the Germans' claim that uncertainty over the euro
had forced the Rover sale, Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon told Breakfast with
Frost: "I really think that BMW were casting around for an excuse and seized
upon that.
"But, in the light of the fact that they have admitted lying to Stephen Byers
a week ago, I don't think we can have much faith in anything they say."
Léon
|