Government finally makes good on promise to give Britishvolt factory in Cambois £100m

Doubts had been raised the cash would actually materialise as, nearly eight months on, the factory is still to receive any funds.

Wansbeck MP Ian Lavery was so concerned, he questioned former PM Boris Johnson about it in the House of Commons earlier this month.

He said: “In January, the government committed £100 million from the Automotive Transformation Fund to the Britishvolt gigafactory, in my constituency. And as of today, not a penny, not a single ha’penny has been received by the company.

"It jeopardises up to 8,000 much-needed jobs."

Mr Johnson replied that the cheque was, metaphorically speaking, in the post. And today that cheque arrived, much to the delight of bosses at Britishvolt.

Isobel Sheldon OBE, chief strategy officer, said: “This is great news for our ambitious plans to construct the UK’s premier battery cell gigaplant in Northumberland.

"While the overwhelming majority of investment for the project will come from private sources, the ATF’s grant funding is very important in proving that the UK government is confident that we will deliver on our plans, and this will help to generate further private investment.

“We want to thank the UK government for its support for this critical investment which will create over 3,000 direct and 5,000 indirect jobs, and that will also strengthen the UK’s technological base and play a key role in helping the country reach its net zero target by 2050.

"The Britishvolt gigaplant will create both the jobs and the industry of the future.”

Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng added: “The Cambois gigafactory will turbocharge our plans to embed a globally competitive electric vehicle supply chain in the UK, and it is fantastic to see how the project is progressing.

“The vast site will ensure Britain can fully capture the benefits of the booming global electric vehicle market. The well-paid jobs and growth it will generate for the North East of England will be transformational and are exactly the reason we are investing to make the UK the best place in the world for automotive manufacturing.”