X Power dream turns sour for MG Sports and Will Riley

Dec 31 2009 By Edward Chadwick

Mechanic Jake Allton, aged 62, won £6,000 in compensation at an employment tribunal against MG Sports and Racing in June for unpaid wages.

But the matter is being sent back before a panel after his former boss said he knew nothing about it and failed to turn up and defend himself.

“I thought we were working on a genuinely exciting project but nothing ever seemed to happen. There were never any parts for us to work with.”

Mr Allton, the subject of the recent claim by Mr Riley, said he was not concerned by the threat of action.

Mr Allton said: “I saw it and I laughed.

“I’m absolutely astonished because he has never brought it up with me before.

“If it has taken him this long, I can’t take it very seriously.”

The arrest for theft relates to the sale of an MG X Power car to a Toronto businessman last year. The buyer, who does not want to be named, had been working to attract investment for Mr Riley and had accepted the silver car, with a cash adjustment, as payment.

It was sent back to Tenbury Wells from Canada in early 2009 because the interior was unfinished.

The buyer was stunned when he later saw the car for sale in an online auction catalogue.

Although it failed to attract the reserve bid in the sale, it was eventually bought but crashed shortly afterwards.

“Aside from the fact that it has had a financial impact on me, all this has been very embarrassing,” said the Canadian. “I had told people about this car and the idea was that it would come here and I could use it to attract potential investors.

‘‘I had already put nine months of work in for the company. It was sent back because it just wasn’t in a state where I wanted to show it to people. When I saw it up for auction, my heart dropped.”

The businessman said he was put off by the costs of civil proceedings to try and recover the costs of the car and was left with no alternative but to go to police in July and Mr Riley was subsequently arrested. He is due to answer bail in February.

A spokesman for West Mercia Crown Prosecution Service said their file was sent back to the police in October 14 for more information.

No decision has been made on whether he will be charged, said a police spokesman.

Mr Riley said: “I don’t think I owe Tony Cox money, but he is taking to me to tribunal next year.

“The other matter is going back to tribunal because I was never made aware of the proceeding and could not put my argument forward.

“Last year we had all sorts of problems which the car industry has felt as a whole and I have been ill on and off for the last 12 months.

“I’m still very much committed to making cars.”

Mr Riley’s solicitor, Adrian Harling, said he could not comment on his client’s arrest for theft because the matter was still ongoing.

Nanjing, which bought the collapsed firm for £53 million in 2005, is seeking an order at the High Court to stop Mr Riley from using the logo and name.

Mr Riley acquired the subsidiary MG Sports and Racing from administrators Price Waterhouse Coopers as part of a sell-off of assets.

The court was told last month that MG Sports and Racing never had formal consent to use the logo.

The hearing will continue in the new year.