A two-part investigation into the collapse of the MG Rover Group is to show tonight on ITV at 8pm.

The ‘Tonight with Trevor McDonald’ special will be hosted by ex-Top Gear presenter, Quentin Wilson and will delve into the reasons why Rover’s Longbridge plant inched towards closure.

Peter Stevens, former consultant director of design at Rover, is among the people interviewed. He tells of how Shanghai negotiators, “very sharp people” were pretending to drink in order to gain an advantage over the British delegation, who were trying to secure a rescue deal.

“They weren’t drinking but they were doing all the play acting of being drunk and reeling about and it wasn’t really happening. And then after midnight it was to repair to the bar to begin negotiations,” says Stevens in the interview.

“It would be wrong to say they were slaughtered, but the Chinese would have given themselves an advantage.”

The two-part programme concludes on Friday.