Ananova:

A fraud probe into the collapse of MG Rover is expected to be confirmed.

Business Secretary Lord Mandelson is due to confirm the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) investigation when he makes a written statement to Parliament.

The SFO's involvement, reported on Sunday, follows a four-year probe into the carmaker's demise.

The 2005 collapse of Birmingham-based MG Rover led to the loss of 6,000 jobs at the carmaker and many more at affected suppliers and dealers.

The four executives in charge of MG Rover at the time reportedly said then there was "no suggestion of improper conduct".

The Government launched an investigation immediately after Rover's collapse to examine what went wrong between Phoenix Ventures' acquisition of the firm in 2000 and administrators being brought in.

But the inquiry took far longer than first thought and has cost the taxpayer £16 million to produce.

The report was finally submitted around three weeks ago and there were calls last month for the findings to be made public. However, it is understood a decision to call in the SFO could see the publication of the report withheld pending the investigation.

The MP for Birmingham Northfield, Richard Burden, whose constituency includes almost all of the former MG Rover site, said it was "right" that any matters arising out of the Government inquiry should be pursued and that "nothing is done to prejudice those inquiries".

But he added: "What I do know is that my constituents - including many former MG Rover workers - and the people in the West Midlands still need to be told the facts about what led to the closure of the company."