BOSSES at BMW, which employs thousands of staff at its Mini plant in Cowley, have expressed concerns over the potential impact of a hard Brexit.

The car giant’s UK chief, Ian Robertson, has called on the government for more clarity over its exit strategy from the EU with the company saying 'contingency plans' may have to be drawn up.

The news comes a day after Oxford-based aerospace giant Airbus threatened to withdraw from the UK in the event of "no-deal" Brexit putting thousands of jobs at risk.

Dr Robertson told the BBC that unless more clarity was provided within months, BMW Group would have to start spending money it couldn’t recover, making the UK a less competitive country to build its cars.

BMW employs around 4,500 people at its Cowley plant.

External communications manager at the Cowley Mini Plant, Steve Wrelton, said: "Manufacturing operations like ours need clarity over the next couple of months in order for us to properly plan our investment decisions and our logistics operations."

Mr Wrelton said currently the components the manufacturer uses to build its cars can move across European borders in a 'frictionless way'.

However, a 'no-deal' Brexit would leave the UK without access to the single market or the customs union potentially disrupting the supply chain.

Dr Robertson had previously urged the government to provide more clarity over its EU withdrawal plans last November.

However, he said at the time that British-based operations would remain crucial, even after the UK leaves the European Union.