MG Rover have gone into receivership. For once, this post strikes very close to home for me, as the company I work for is an MG Rover supplier.

This afternoon we received an urgent communication from one of the major Rover sub-suppliers informing us that they were suspending all parts deliveries and asking for urgent clarification of our stock and orders. It soon became clear that something serious was afoot. It became clear very soon that all major suppliers were refusing to deliver with immediate effect unless outstanding debts were settled.

We contacted MG Rover directly to clarify the situation. The story we were told was that one particular manufacturer had failed to deliver in the morning due to a confusion over payment. This had caused a stoppage which was leaked to the media and misconstrued as something bigger. Other suppliers had got wind of the story and had run scared. We were informed that MG Rover would recommence production at 07:30 Monday morning. It now seems more likely that the company were trying to buy time before officially announcing the move into receivership.

Tonight there are bizarre reports that the Government's announcement that Rover was in the hands of the receivers came in advance of MG Rover's directors actually going down that line. Given the fact that it is illegal to knowingly continue operating an insolvent company, if true this development could put Rover's directors in a great deal of trouble, as well as causing plenty of potential embarrassment to the government during an election campaign.

MG Rover were seeking a tie-up with Shanghai Automotive Corporation which would have provided a desperately needed cash injection. In the end they found themselves in a classic chicken-egg situation. The government offered a bridging loan if the deal could be secured. Shanghai Automotive Corporation would not commit to a deal without a loan in place. In the end, it seems likely that the government would not able to sweeten the deal to a sufficient degree due to European competition laws.

As it stands it is likely that our company will lose a significant sum of money, but we are the lucky ones. My overwhelming emotion is sympathy for the 6,000 workers at Rover who will lose their jobs and the countless others working for less fortunate manufacturers who will lose their livelihoods as a result.

With MG Rover out of the picture, there is not British owned manufacturer left producing more than around 1,000 vehicles per year. It is no exaggeration, therefore, to say that the British motor industry has died today.

UPDATE at 23:40: MG Rover have just announced that in spite of the government's announcement they have not officially put the company into receivership! This is going to get very, very messy!