Honda deny discussing bail-out

A story in The Guardian this morning suggested that Honda Racing were in talks with the British government to receive a share of the £2.3 billion bail-out of the car industry that was announced by Lord Mandelson earlier this week.

The Honda Racing team initially declined to comment on the story, fuelling the idea that a bail-out from the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) could form part of a rescue package for the team.

However, a spokesman for the Honda Motor Company told autosport.com that although there had been discussions with BERR about the team, there was never any plan to receive a government handout.

"We have met with BERR on several occasions, to discuss how things are progressing, plus the prospects for the team and their 700 employees," said the spokesman.

"However, we have not met with them to discuss a bail-out and no discussions have taken place about a government financial bail-out."