Plea to block Cobham deal

THE £4bn takeover of British defence firm Cobham has been slammed by its founding family.

Lady Nadine Cobham, whose late husband Sir Michael ran the firm and was the son of its founder Sir Alan, has written to the Government urging it to intervene.

Cobham’s board has already pledged support for the deal, which will see US private equity giant Advent International take control. But Lady Cobham, 76, said the deal will hollow out the UK’s defence industry and could put national security at risk.

When engineering company GKN was taken over by buyout firm Melrose last year, the Government slapped a number of conditions on the deal, including an order which stipulated that it could not be sold to an overseas buyer for five years.