Jaguar’s boss isn’t scaremongering: the UK car industry is in big trouble

‘I’m afraid I think he’s making it up,’ was the retort of Tory MP Sir Bernard Jenkin on Monday’s Today programme to the claim by Ralf Speth, boss of Jaguar Land Rover, that a bad Brexit deal could put tens of thousands of jobs at risk in JLR and its suppliers, and cost his company £1.2 billion a year. In the same speech last week, Speth pointed out that the lack of any sort of Brexit clarity means he has no idea whether his UK factories will be able to operate on 30 March next year — or whether even the ‘tiny’ border delays Jenkin concedes are likely will cripple the just-in-time systems on which the likes of JLR and the BMW Mini factory at Cowley depend. If just one truckload of Spanish-made headlights is stuck at the docks, the line could come to a halt: it’s as simple as that.