Renault has recalled 15,000 Captur SUVs after conceding that the vehicles emission filtration system did not work at all temperatures.

The French manufacturer has denied any wrongdoing and said there was no “defeat device” on the affected vehicles – produced between July and September last year – as it set about developing a remedy for the issue.

Gaspar Gascon Abellan, Renault’s director of engineering said that Renault had discovered “a calibration error” in the emissions-cutting system, which meant nitrogen oxides and sulphur were not being properly eliminated.

A total of 270 Renault Capturs sold in Britain will be affected by the recall.

Renault’s recall comes after it emerged that the French brand’s registered office at the Renault Lardy Technical Centre and the Guyancourt Technocentre were visited by investigators making enquiries as part of the French authorities investigations into vehicle emissions.

A statement issued by Renault stated that the French authorities already felt that testing of its vehicles “would not reveal the presence of a defeat device”, adding that the visits had been carried out “in order to definitively confirm the first findings resulting from the analysis of the independent technical commission”.

News of the raids did lead to an initial 20% slump in Renault share prices at the Paris Stock exchange.

Vauxhall was also dragged into the emissions scandal this week after an investigation in Belgium found dramatic drops in nitrogen oxides emissions levels following dealer services of the Zafira model, The Telegraph reported.

The 1.6-litre diesel models at the centre of the allegations are sold in Britain, but Vauxhall has denied allegations that routine services were being used to rig emissions.

A spokesman told The Telegraph: "The software upgrade on the car is to do with a problem with a warning light that comes on too soon and tells you too soon that you need to put something in.

"It's nothing to do with emissions; it doesn't touch emissions or engine controls at all.”