Trade day at the British International Motorshow saw Digby, Lord Jones of Birmingham deliver the first ever BENgold Lecture to an assembly of BENgold supporters, Journalists and Motorshow attendees.

The minister spoke for twenty minutes covering his passion for the industry, the current state of the market and his view for a sustainable future in motor manufacturing in the UK.

Lord Digby also spoke at length on the value of having an organisation like BEN attached to the industry. He commented "The journey through making cars also means that you get people who fall on hard times, the whole globalised expansion of making things actually means you are always open to competition and that people will move on...

MG Rover went under, there is nothing wrong with that, as long as what we do is skill the people, look after the people, and get them into something else and make sure that we concentrate on the areas of globalisation where we can win, which is the clever stuff. But as those people reach venerable parts of their lives, some will fall on hard time's full stop and some will fall on hard times because of poor health, some will fall on hard because they have retired and they haven't provided enough for their retirement and that's where BEN comes in. That's where 1 in 10 of the population can be under the umbrella of BEN. Such is the reach and the depth of the British motor industry and it exists to look after people who can no longer do it all themselves, and that actually enables me to fulfil the second part of what I have always believed which is what I call socially inclusive wealth creation.

BEN is so vitally important for those who can't, not those who wont, but those who can't. For those who cant we should reach out, down, round and under and just help, give them a leg up, give them a feeling of security and just be there for them, when no one else is and that's what BEN does for all those people who have been associated with this fabulous industry over the decades."

Commenting on the occasion, Charles Davis, Director of Fundraising and Communications at BEN said "We are extremely grateful to Lord Jones for sparing the time to come and address our supporters. They were delighted to have the opportunity to hear first hand, his passionate and informative view of our industries, and the direction he hopes it will take for the future. This was the first time we have staged a lecture for our BENgold supporters and the fact that it has been so well received means we are already looking into the possibilities for next year."