Car giant Toyota is recalling more than three million vehicles over problems with air bags and fuel emission controls.

A senior Takata executive yesterday defended the Japanese company’s rejection of a nationwide US recall of its potentially deadly airbags, insisting that testing data did not back such an action.

More than 2,000 people have been saved from death or serious injury because of a major improvement in road safety in the North over the last five years, it was revealed today.

Swedish car safety manufacturer Autoliv today announced the closure of an airbag manufacturing plant in Britain. Some 520 jobs will be lost.