THERESA May tried to calm fears production of the Mini could be moved out of Oxford as she insisted the UK will get a ‘good deal’ after Brexit.

In a visit to the city yesterday, the Prime Minister said she wanted the automotive industry to stay ‘competitive’ and would listen to concerns of business leaders.

But she warned stricter border controls were what ‘people voted for’, despite Mini Plant owner BMW calling for ‘free movement’ for its workers.

Chief executive Harald Krueger last week said the company was ‘flexible’ about where it produced its Mini series, with union bosses yesterday calling on the Government to secure the plant’s future.

Political opponents accused Mrs May’s Conservatives of ‘inaction and posturing’ over the issue.

But responding to the concerns in an interview with the Oxford Mail, the Prime Minister said: “What BMW want, as do other companies and businesses in the UK, is we get a really good deal from Brexit and from our negotiations with the European Union.

“We want a comprehensive free trade agreement with as free and frictionless trade as possible between the UK and the EU in the future and you can only do that with strong hand in negotiations, you only do that with a strong and stable government and leadership that can take those negotiations forward – because they are going to be tough.”

When asked what guarantees she could give BMW about the movement of its workers, a key concern raised by its chief executive, she added: “When we leave the European Union we will be able to put into place our own controls of borders for people coming in from the EU into the UK.

“That is one of the things people voted for when they voted to leave.

“As we develop the rules for EU citizens in future, as we have done in the past with people from outside the EU, we will of course take into consideration the needs of business here in the UK.

“But the underlying feature is we recognise we want to welcome the brightest and the best here and we will continue to do so.”

BMW’s Cowley plant builds 1,000 models of the Mini every day, but bosses are currently deliberating over where production of a new electric version of the iconic car should be located.

In comments last week to shareholders, Mr Krueger said: “You know that we make Mini models at VDL Nedcar in the Netherlands. We’re flexible.”

He also called for ‘pragmatism’ in Brexit talks, adding: “That means no new barriers to trade, free movement for skilled workers.”

And yesterday Unite the Union warned the fate of thousands of jobs depended on the outcome of negotiations.

Spokesman Alex Flynn said: “We are one with BMW and other car manufacturers in the UK about the need to to have tariff-free access to the single market and the customs union. It is essential to the future of the industry and the jobs which depend on it, both directly and indirectly, in Oxfordshire and the wider region.

“Auto manufacturers need that access because car parts go backwards and forwards between the UK and the rest of Europe a number of times, so putting up trade barriers will put up costs.

“The Government has got to secure the plant’s future and that of manufacturing.”

Mini Plant production line worker Roland Higgs, from Bicester, said there were not yet any ‘major concerns’ on the shop floor.

The 63-year-old, who is planning to vote for Labour, added: “Until the discussions start, people won’t understand what effect it might or might not have. There is always this underlying threat it could be moved. But the investment has been too great in Oxford to throw it away – it’s hundreds of millions of pounds.

“It would not make sense.”