TOYOTA has given an assurance that there are no plans to cut back its British operation, despite president Hiroshi Okuda's warning that the car giant will look to invest elsewhere if Britain does not join a single European currency.

The company has invested £840 million at the Burnaston plant in Derbyshire and the Deeside engine plant in Wales to build the Carina E. A further £200 million is currently being spent to expand the operation to produce the Corolla model, involving the creation of 1,000 new jobs. As recently as last week, Fleet NewsNet reported Toyota's plans to increase UK production to 200,000 vehicles a year by the turn of the century

A spokesman for Toyota said: 'All work continues as planned. Our position regarding future investment in Europe is currently being evaluated and nothing has been decided. Future investment in the UK is being considered as one of the many possible options. This policy remains and has not changed.'