By Isabelle Bates

Copyright birminghammail

A union has praised the government for loaning Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) £1.5billion following a cyber attack. The Export Development Guarantee (EDG) will be paid back over five years and will be provided by export credit agency UK Export Finance. It comes after production was forced to halt following a cyber attack in August. READ MORE: Small business owners ‘hurting’ as they lose hundreds every day amid Jaguar Land Rover’s shut down READ MORE: Expert questions government support to help Jaguar Land Rover during ‘biggest crisis ever’ GMB Union, representing workers at Jaguar Land Rover and its manufacturing supply chain, has welcomed the announcement of Government support. Martin Allen, GMB Regional Secretary, said: “Jaguar Land Rover is a British institution; huge parts of the economy across the UK and here in the Midlands are tied into it’s success. “It is a welcome step that the Government has intervened in this way, to support the company as well as the tens of thousands of workers across its supply chain. “From day one GMB have been clear that this moment called for urgent and considered action; that is exactly what we have seen from the Government. “The Midlands is at the heart of British manufacturing, and we cannot afford to leave its future to chance.” Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves, previously said: “Jaguar Land Rover is an iconic British company which employs tens of thousands of people – a jewel in the crown of our economy. “We are protecting thousands of those jobs with up to £1.5 billion in additional private finance, helping them support their supply chain and protect a vital part of the British car industry.” JLR has plants in Solihull and as well as Halewood in Merseyside. It is one of the UK’s largest exporters and a major employer – employing 34,000 directly in its UK operations. It also operates the largest supply chain in the UK automotive sector, much of it made up of SMEs, and employing around 120,000 people.