Ford is going through due diligence with BMW in relation to the acquisition of Land Rover and the negotiations are not yet completed, and will not be until June or July, but I can reassure the hon. Gentleman that we are still talking to Ford, and indeed BMW, about those outstanding matters. There is gross overcapacity across the motor industry because we are producing far more cars than we can sell. Will my right hon. That is the problem that we have in the car industry, and it is the fault not of the workers but of the marketing people who look at the world through rose-coloured glasses.
Friend makes a most important point.
The review of its European operations that Ford is now conducting has been motivated not by the strength of sterling or by the employment laws in the United Kingdom but by the fact that there is overproduction in the European market, running to about 20 or 25 per cent. Tomorrow's announcement will be a mixture of good and bad news, but it will be clear from it that Ford will remain committed to the United Kingdom and that we will still have Ford as a major employer in this country. I regret the fact that the hon. Lady has clearly not seen the latest manufacturing output figures which were published this morning. If she had, she would have seen that between February and March manufacturing output grew by 0.4 per cent.