By David Rocks and Tommaso Ebhardt

Colin Firth has signed up to star as Noel Coward in a new comedy drama.

The story of Rebekah Brooks, the former newspaper executive who is to face criminal charges over the phone hacking scandal, is to be made into a feature length film.

President Barack Obama’s auto taskforce has told sceptical US politicians that the government had no plans to pump more money into carmakers General Motors and Chrysler, and said the public had a “reasonable probability” of getting its money back.