Britain and Ireland’s largest union — Unite — has described Honda’s decision to press ahead with the closure of its Swindon plant by 2021 as a ‘body blow of betrayal’, after the car maker said it had rejected an alternative plan that would have kept the plant open.

The closure of Honda Swindon threatens the livelihoods of over 15,000 direct Honda employees and workers in the supply chain.

Unite national officer Des Quinn (www.unitetheunion.org) said: “We await the detailed reasons from Honda, but Unite believes that our alternative case to keep Honda Swindon open added up and was likely to be backed by the Government with public money.

“It would have made Honda a global leader in emerging battery technology and put it in a strong position to exploit the growing global market for electric vehicles in the coming years.

“Instead, we have this body blow which is nothing short of a betrayal of the workforce, customers and the wider supply chain that relies on Honda Swindon for work.

“Unite can only conclude that Honda is taking a strategic decision to retreat out of Europe in favour of protecting its North American operations and avoiding President Trump’s tariff threat on cars made in Europe.”