A BRITISH vehicle manufacturer controlled by Oleg Deripaska, the Russian tycoon who played host to Lord Mandelson on a yacht last summer, is appealing to his ministry for taxpayers’ support.

LDV, which is based in Birmingham, has arranged a meeting with officials from Mandelson’s Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform this week. It is not known whether Mandelson, the business secretary, has declared an interest, but he will not attend the meeting.

The news will renew pressure on Mandelson for a proper disclosure of his links to the tycoon.

LDV, formed out of the van business of Leyland Daf in the early 1990s, was bought by Deripaska’s Moscow-based Gaz Group in 2006 for about £50m. It employs about 900 workers and produces about 13,000 vehicles a year. It wants help to end an extended shutdown caused by a downturn in demand.

Deripaska has a worldwide industrial empire. His political acquaintances include Mandelson, who stayed on his yacht, the Queen K, off Corfu last summer.

Mandelson has consistently declined to comment on the extent of his links with Deripaska or on the number of times he has accepted hospitality from the oligarch.

Mandelson has said the government has received a “number of competing requests” from the motor industry and is considering its options. He is known to favour a scheme that would increase the availability of credit to buyers.

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