Nissan to make new Qashqai and X-Trail models in Britain

Nissan's importance to the North east economy is hard to over-state so this announcement is welcome news indeed.

Underneath the surface, the planned investment comes with "assurances" from the UK government that Nissan's commitment will not be undermined by the fallout from the Brexit vote - I wonder what those assurances are? Presumably "shielded means shielded?"

The size and scope of the financial package / assurances given to Nissan might well fall foul of EU rules on state aid - but with EU exit scheduled for the spring of 2019, this may not be that relevant to the debate.

Here are some reactions to the breaking news about the Nissan investment and links to analysis in the media. 7,000 jobs are directly affected by the decision with perhaps an extra 20-25,000 jobs secured in supply-chain industries in and around the highly productive car plant at Washington in Tyne and Wear.