Inspectors finally deliver report into Rover collapse

An official report into the collapse of MG Rover has finally been submitted to the Government, more than four years after the car-maker's demise, it emerged today.

The MP for Birmingham Northfield, Richard Burden, said it was "incredibly frustrating" that the report had taken so long to complete and also expressed his concern that it had cost the taxpayer almost £16 million.

In a reply to a parliamentary question tabled by Mr Burden, Business Minister Ian Lucas confirmed that inspectors delivered their report to the Business Secretary on June 11.

Mr Lucas informed the Northfield MP, whose constituency includes almost all of the former MG Rover site, that the total cost of the inquiry had risen to £15,922,838.

In his written answer, the Business Minister acknowledged that the cost of the "complex" inquiry had been very high and said the Government would carefully consider the approach to similar inquiries in the future with a view to minimising expense to the taxpayer.

Calling on the Government to make the findings of the report public as quickly as possible, Mr Burden said: "Like everybody else in the area I have found it incredibly frustrating that we have had to wait so long for this report.

"The escalating cost of the inquiry has also been a matter of real concern to so many people, including me.

"Hopefully the contents of the report will provide some answers to why it has cost so much and I certainly welcome the Government's commitment to try to minimise the cost of any similar inquiries in the future.

"But the important thing now is to know what the report contains and I hope the Government will be able to make a statement on that as soon as possible."

The independent inquiry was established to investigate what led to the collapse of MG Rover with the loss of around 6,000 jobs in 2005.