Eurotunnel on its own, says Labour

THE Labour Party has been approached by lobbyists representing Eurotunnel, the troubled channel tunnel operator, seeking to find out whether a Labour government would bale the company out should it collapse, an MP has claimed.

The approach appears to have sparked a debate within the party about its response, which has concluded that Labour would not save the company.

One Labour MP told the Independent on Sunday: "Several of my colleagues have been approached by lobbyists. They wanted to know whether a Labour government would bale them out if they collapsed."

The front-bench trade and industry spokesman, Stuart Bell, said: "The leaning in the party at the moment is that it is a market creation and there should be a market solution. It would be unfortunate for the banks, but we don't see why taxpayers' money should be used to save it."

Sir Alastair Morton, Eurotunnel's co-chairman, said: "Nobody has any authority from the company to approach the Labour Party. Eurotunnel is up and running and the numbers are starting to flow."