MP says MG cash should go to ex-staff

Nov 23 2009 by Edward Chadwick, Birmingham Mail

BANKS set to net a multi-million pound windfall from the ashes of failed Birmingham car makers MG Rover should be made to contribute towards a fund for ex-workers, an MP has said.

The shamed Phoenix Four and a top Longbridge executive are due to pocket a bonus of more than £11 million within weeks, according to reports. The cash will come from the winding up of MGR Capital which was kept separate from the doomed firm.

About £11 million will go to HBOS, who controlled part of MGR Capital.

Northfield MP Richard Burden called on the Phoenix Four to think about the former employees and said he would put pressure on ministers to try and persuade the bankers to set aside cash for a trust fund. The Government holds a 43 per cent stake in HBOS after it invested in the banking sector to avert financial crisis.

Mr Burden said: “It is something I will be speaking to ministers about. It is an area where they have got influence and I think banks need to show a social responsibility.”

Mr Burden said that cash could be used to bolster the trust fund to provide for ex-staff and a community development trust.