Flagship not for sale

AS MPs launch an inquiry into the hostile bid for Britain’s oldest engineering company, the Mail rejoices that Westminster has at last woken up to this grave threat to our national interest.

Indeed, anyone who believes the get-richquick merchants at Melrose are fit to take over GKN should look what happened to FKI, another company that fell into their clutches ten years ago.

After selling off most of the firm’s assets for a fat profit, Melrose kept control of gas turbine manufacturer Brush – which has performed weakly ever since, with the threat of job losses now hanging over it.

This week, Melrose reported a loss of £28million after writing off £145million from Brush’s value. Can such City chancers, relying on loans for their acquisitions, really be trusted to take over GKN?

For 260 years, this flagship engineering firm has been vital to our defence, making cannonballs for Waterloo and Spitfires for the Battle of Britain. To this day, it remains a world-beater in the sort of technologies we will need after Brexit, whether building parts for stealth aircraft or driveshafts for electric cars.

Yes, GKN needs to improve its efficiency. But it would be madness to let it be broken up and sold to the highest bidders at home and abroad.

As leading industrialist and Government adviser Sir Richard Lapthorne puts it: ‘The hollowing out of Britain’s industrial base has gone too far. The Germans and French would not even dream of allowing this.’

Is the Government listening?