01/10/2004
NEWS STORY
Sports Minister Richard Caborn has ruled out government intervention as Silverstone struggles to retain the British Grand Prix.
"Is it right that a cash-rich, asset-rich sport should take money out of the sport budget?" he said in an interview with BBC Radio Five Live.
However, former Sports Minister Kate Hoey, believes the government should help out.
"It's not just about sport," she said, "it's actually about the future of the motor industry in this country.
"It seems to me that they haven't actually thought through the repercussions of losing it. "What message does this send to the world and to our competitors in terms of an Olympic bid?
"I do think that while we hope Bernie Ecclestone is playing hardball and that something may get sorted out, we can't go on year after year having this.
"This government has to decide whether it cares about the whole industry to actually put some tangible support into it."