Jaguar Land Rover could be given financial help from the Government within days to safeguard tens of thousands of jobs.

Ministers are currently discussing a £667m loans package to help Jaguar and the UK motor industry, a Labour peer has claimed.

Yesterday Prime Minister Gordon Brown said there was no promise of support for the car maker. But the United States’ decision to shore up its motor sector has piled pressure on the British Government.

Manufacturing expert Lord Bhattacharyya said he expected the Government to arrange the loans “fairly soon”.

But ministers are warning that the responsibility for the future of the carmaker, which employs 15,000 people in the West Midlands, lies with its owner Tata.

Lord Bhattacharyya, who is said to be close to both Mr Brown and Ratan Tata, chairman of Jaguar Land Rover’s owner the Tata group, said Britain should follow America’s lead by offering emergency support.