Yesterday in Parliament I set out the facts about Nissan’s decision not to produce the X-Trail in Sunderland. Not one job is going to be lost at the plant, and the three core models, the Qashqai, Juke SUV and electric Leaf are all going to be made there in huge quantities.
At a crucial time in the Brexit negotiations, lots of North East politicians have tried to blame the vote to leave the EU. The reality is that as the company has made clear, this is far more about the shrinking market for diesel cars owing to changing consumer habits and tougher emissions legislation.
As I said in my question to the Business Secretary, the one area where Brexit is relevant here is in the need to provide certainty to businesses about the future. This is something where Parliament needs to deliver and with action on the backstop, I hope we can secure agreement as quickly as possible.