UK takes aim in Bombardier row

Britain told US planemaker Boeing it could lose out on British defence contracts because of its dispute with Canadian rival Bombardier which has put 4,200 jobs at risk in the North.

The US Department of Commerce had imposed a 220% duty on Bombardier’s CSeries jets, whose wings are made at a plant in Belfast, following a complaint by Boeing which accuses Canada of unfairly subsidising Bombardier.

The ruling is a political headache for UK prime minister Theresa May whose minority Conservative government relies on support from the DUP to stay in power.