Volvo has leapt to defend its name and brand after being used as the title of a plot to unseat former Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Leaked documents were released today called Project Volvo, which relates to Gordon Brown’s apparent character traits of being ‘dependable, robust but ultimately dour’.

Volvo said politicians at the time “clearly hadn’t acquainted themselves with the Volvo brand in over a decade” when labelling the project.

Peter Rask, regional president of Volvo Car UK, Ireland and Iceland, said: "If only the Labour party had been like today's Volvos - dynamic, agile and innovative - perhaps the UK economy would have been in a better place than it finds itself today.”