Jaguar today officially opened its new £300m plant at Halewood, home of the new 'baby' Jaguar, the X-type which also went on sale this week.

The development safeguards 3,000 jobs and created 500 new jobs.

Wolfgang Reitzle, Jaguar chairman, said: "The launch of the X-type is the single biggest step in Jaguar's massive growth strategy. The Jaguar team has achieved the first phase of what will go down as one of the greatest turnarounds in British industrial history.

"After a huge investment programme the plant is meeting Jaguar's rigorous quality standards."

The £300m includes £43m from the Government. 75% of the plant is new, including production lines.