The allegation is that...

The allegation is that administrator PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PWC) "discriminated" against Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC) when it accepted the measly н‚бЈ50million rival offer for the collapsed MG Rover/Powertrain empire from Nanjing. Fed-up corporate fixer and entrepreneur David James is, understandably, causing further ripples by claiming his bid was н‚бЈ15million higher than Nanjing"s. The UK unions don"t believe at this early stage that the Nanjing bid is best for British employees, either, and that could lead to industrial action, which is the last thing that"s needed.

And the icing on the cake is that one of the world"s most talented car men - former Mazda Japan, Ford Europe and Maserati boss Martin Leach, who teamed up with SAIC - has effectively been blown out of the water by the administrator, too. This has robbed MG Rover and Powertrain of the credible frontman it desperately needs.

Close examination of recent, carefully worded statements from PWC fill me with little confidence. On 15 April, the firm said: "Very significant funding would be required to sustain the [MG Rover/Powertrain] business as a going concern."

And even now, after the sale, there remains little or no evidence that Nanjing, or indeed the failed bidders, are prepared to commit money of any significance. On 29 April, PWC worryingly concluded: "It will not be viable for [Powertrain] production to recommence." Roll forward to 20 May, and the official word was there was only an "outside possibility that car production could restart at Longbridge".

And even on 22 July, when MG Rover and Powertrain were sold to Nanjing, PWC cautiously confessed the Chinese firm has "indicated its intention to relocate the engine plant and some car production to China" and to retain "some in the UK". Significantly and cleverly, this is not the same as saying the Chinese firm will definitely build cars and pay factory workers the going rate here.

But why would it? Nanjing can hire workers in China at a fraction of the cost, thanks to massively lower labour rates, longer working hours and considerably less, if any, union clout. Personally, I"m suspicious about Nanjing"s motivation and its sketchy plans for the years ahead. And I"m equally doubtful about Longbridge"s future as a car producing venue for its new owner. It"s almost as if the Midlands plant and the Rover name have become jinxed. For once, I actually hope to be proved wrong.