David Cameron and Nick Clegg

The Prime Minister, David Cameron, and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, have just had a MINI Adventure by getting behind the wheel of a brand new MINI in Paris, in support of the “GREAT” Britain Campaign. The “GREAT” Britain campaign is all about promoting the best of Britain around the world. This initiative also follows the Prime Minister driving the two millionth MINI off the production line at MINI Plant Oxford, just a few months ago.

The Prime Minister said: “MINI is a fantastic success story and I’m delighted that the company is supporting GREAT, our campaign to promote Britain abroad. We want to welcome the world to Britain in 2012 and show everyone what makes our country such a great place to live, work, visit and invest.”

Tim Abbott, Managing Director, BMW Group UK said “As a global brand with its roots firmly planted in the UK, MINI demonstrates the best of British manufacturing, expertise, innovation, design, culture, heritage and style. We are delighted to support the “Great” Britain campaign and to celebrate and encourage others to experience all that is great about Britain.”

Since 2001, over 1.5 million of the two million British-built MINIs have been exported to customers in more than 90 countries across the world from Australia to Venezuela. The company produced 191,474 vehicles in 2011 and was the third largest vehicle manufacturer in the UK.  

There are currently five MINI models built in the UK, namely Hatchback, Convertible, Clubman, Coupe and soon to be launched Roadster and MINI contract hire is on the site now for all latest versions.

The Transport Minister, Sadiq Khan, has signalled that the Government is going to crack down on rogue car parking firms, with the introduction of tough new rules limiting the access to driver data.

Private parking companies can currently request data from the DVLA in order to issue penalty notices for drivers who have parked illegally on private land. These companies will now have to become a member of an Accredited Trade Association, requiring them to abide by a strict code, before they will be able to get this information in the future. To date the only ATA is the British Parking Association.

Other measures being considered include a compulsory licensing system for clamping firms which will ensure they behave reponsibly.