A poor month for the UK car industry got worse yesterday when Jaguar, an icon of British motoring and elegance, said it would stop production at its historic home in the British midlands.
Coming on top of the rescue of Land Rover's factory following threats of closure last week, the news stunned trade unions and British car enthusiasts alike.
Labour leaders promised to fight to draw "a line in the sand", warning that if Ford Motor, Jaguar's owner, was allowed to push through the end of carmaking at the famed Brown's Lane plant in Coventry, it could lead to a domino effect hitting other British plants.
"We are not prepared to see British workers be treated as cannon fodder to satisfy American shareholders," said Mr Tony Woodley, general secretary of the Transport and General Workers' Union.
Mr Woodley is a veteran of the battle to prevent Ford closing its Dagenham factory in east London, where car production stopped two years ago and was replaced by a smaller engine plant.
Britain's car industry looked to be on the road to extinction in the 1970s, and it has seen all its brands, from Mini to Rolls Royce, fall into the hands of foreign owners.
But the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, which represents UK-based carmakers, says the country has proved its worth as a location by attracting new investment recently from Toyota and Nissan.
Britain has Europe's most productive car factory, Nissan's Micra plant in Sunderland, while BMW-owned Mini, once a sister company of Land Rover and Jaguar under state ownership, is running at full capacity at its plant in Oxford.
