New petrol and diesel vehicles will be banned from 2040 but bringing it forward ten years could help the car industry, it is claimed

Ministers have been urged to bring a ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars into force ten years early, to cut air pollution deaths and help the car industry.

The UK is currently set to ban the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans from 2040.

But Washington and Sunderland West MP Sharon Hodgson has told transport ministers that the change should come into effect in 2030, partly to drum up business for car manufacturers.

Her constituency includes the Nissan car plant, where 7,000 people are employed. Nissan is one of a number of carmakers to have announced job cuts, following a fall in demand for diesel vehicles and uncertainty about the impact of Brexit on the automotive sector.

Read more: Chronicle Live