'Bye Boris!' MPs shout at Johnson as PMQs stream is cut short
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Early this year, the Government had vowed to invest £100million in Britishvolt, a company that is currently building the UK’s first gigafactory in Northumberland. Through this project, the firm is set to create 3,000 jobs at the electric battery factory and over 5,000 in the associated supply chains. Despite construction work for the massive factory beginning in April, the Government has so far not upheld its promise to support the project, according to MP Ian Lavery of Wansbeck.
During the Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Lavery slammed the Government for “jeopardising” 8,000 jobs and urged Mr Johnson to send the “cheque” as soon as possible.
He said: “On January 21, the Government committed £100million from the Automotive Transformation Fund for the Britishvolt Gigafactory in my constituency Wansbeck.
“As of today, not a penny is being received by the company and it jeopardises up to 8,000 much-needed jobs.
“The tensions between the Prime Minister and the former Chancellor have sadly now been much exposed.
“I’m telling you now Prime Minister, the betrayal of my constituents cannot be another broken promise by the Government.
“Please instruct your new bestie to make sure that the cheque is in the post by this afternoon, because who knows who will be in that seat this time this afternoon, never mind next week.”
After congratulating Mr Lavery on his “enthusiasm” for the project, Mr Johnson replied: “I can tell him [Mr Lavery] that the letter was sent last night and in principle offer him support for this project, that’s what I’m going to do.”
In response to this story, Britishvolt told Express.co.uk: “We are encouraged by the words of support from the Prime Minister for Britishvolt at PMQs, and look forward to receiving the documents in the post as suggested.”
Britishvolt’s gigafactory is crucial for the UK to become a world leader in the electric vehicle industry, particularly as more carmakers phase out their petrol and diesel cars to go all-electric.
However, according to a new report by the Faraday Institution, the UK is still at risk of falling behind, as EU countries, particularly Germany, are set to rapidly scale up production.
Most recently, Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) warned that it is “exploring all options” on the supply of batteries for its electric vehicles as the UK is currently failing to deliver on their requirements.
Tata Motors, which owns JLR is reportedly in talks with foreign battery makers Northvolt and SVolt Energy Technology, to source critical supplies for their EVs.
Experts have warned that such a loss of a potentially huge contract could signal doom for the country’s automotive industry.
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So far, the UK has been lagging behind several major countries, particularly Germany after it beat Britain to strike a deal with Tesla chief executive Elon Musk and build Europe’s first Tesla gigafactory.
Mr Musk blamed uncertainties over Brexit as the reason for picking Berlin over Britain, saying that Brexit made it “too risky” to set up its European Gigafactory in the UK.
Express.co.uk has contacted the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy for confirmation on when the funds will be received.
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