The decision on Government funding to help to rescue Vauxhall could be completed within weeks, according to Lord Mandelson, the Secretary of State for Business.

A teenage gang member who knifed a 16-year-old army cadet through the heart was sentenced to a minimum of 17 years behind bars today.

Tens of thousands of commuters suffered travel delays today after a trespasser walked on to one of the busiest railway lines in the country.

"This place needs some stability," the General Motors boss Ed Whitacre declared yesterday. "I guess that's me."

Good December figures meant the number of new cars sold in 2009 dipped only 6.4 per cent compared with 2008, it was announced today.

Charlie Cooke is thinking of investing in a weekend toy, and has a budget of around £25,000. He really fancies something with two seats and a lot of grip – maybe a Porsche Cayman – though he is open to any ideas. He would prefer a coupé rather than a convertible as he feels that he would like something which he can enjoy all year round. This would make a great Christmas present, although Charlie knows that he will have to wait until the New Year to realise his dream.

It should have been the first model launched by Vauxhall/Opel under the ownership of a new parent company, Magna. Instead, the new Astra, which goes on sale in the UK today, will be the centrepiece of General Motors' emerging turnaround plan for its European operations, after the US group decided to keep its British and German brands rather than selling them off.

The new Chevrolet Spark is an important new model for General Motors – but not as important as it might have been. Until October this year, GM had planned to sell its European Opel and Vauxhall operations in order to shore up its precarious financial position. That would have left Chevrolet, the brand under which GM sells its Korean-sourced cars in Europe, to spearhead the American group's efforts here – and the Spark would have carried the burden of being the first new Chevrolet to be launched by GM in the post-Opel/Vauxhall age.

Vauxhall’s Luton plant is to cut 354 staff under the massive restructuring of parent GM’s European operations, the company said today.

General Motors (GM) has now entered the consultation phase concerning the future of each of its European plants as it firms up its plan for the development of Vauxhall and Opel. Having reversed its decision to sell its British and German brands to the component supplier Magna, GM now has to execute a turnaround for its European operations itself.

The British motor industry enjoyed its best news in many months yesterday, when GM Europe's new chief executive, Nick Reilly, offered an assurance that there will be no closure or job losses at Vauxhall's Ellesmere Port plant in Merseyside, and that it would be moving to three-shift production, utilising its full capacity.

Car giant Vauxhall today announced plans to increase production at one of its UK factories, easing worries about job losses.