Sir Bernard: Jaguar boss ‘telling lies’

JAGUAR Land Rover’s chief executive was accused yesterday of fabricating warnings about potential hard Brexit job losses.

Former shadow minister Sir Bernard Jenkin accused the firm’s boss Professor Ralf Speth of scaremongering over a prediction that crashing out of the EU would have a “horrifying” effect on the company’s business.

Prof Speth told the UK’s first Zero Emission Vehicle Summit in Birmingham that a hard Brexit could result in the “worst of times” for the UK while the cost to Jaguar Land Rover would be £1.2billion a year.

Asked for his view on Prof Speth’s warning, Sir Bernard, a member of the Eurosceptic European Research Group, said yesterday: “I’m afraid I think he’s making it up. We’ve had figures made up all the time by scaremongers in this debate. I’m afraid nobody believes them.”

His comments came after the car giant said it was making “temporary adjustments” in production at its Castle Bromwich site in Birmingham due to “continuing headwinds” hitting the car industry.

Labour MP Jack Dromey said the site, which is in his constituency, was moving to a three-day week until Christmas due to “Brexit chaos”.

The firm declined to respond on Sir Bernard’s comments, but added on the cuts: “In light of continuing headwinds impacting the car industry, we are making some temporary adjustments to our production schedules.”