NISSAN last night stepped up pressure on the Government to embrace the euro with a warning that its car component base could be switched to Europe.

On the eve of the British Motor Show in Birmingham, the Japanese giant issued a warning that could spell disaster for the North-East.

Nissan brought with it scores of smaller parts suppliers when it settled in the region.

The network of firms helped make the Sunderland plant one of the most efficient in the world - and their "just in time" production processes have been widely copied.

But the strength of the pound has already seen a move to overseas purchasing and now the company is warning that could accelerate.

John Cushnaghan, managing director of the Nissan subsidiary, is predicting that the group's buying budget will in future match its sales profile - currently 75 per cent in the euro-zone.

That will have a devastating impact on British-based suppliers who employ more than 20,000 people in the North-East.

Estimates have put the number of jobs under threat at the Nissan plant at 1,000 if it fails to land the Micra.