Chancellor John Healey commits up to £1.25bn of taxpayers' cash to Rolls-Royce's £2.5bn jet engine plan in the Budget

Rolls-Royce chief executive Tufan Erginbilgic called the deal a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" as the Budget confirmed the government will back the company's ten-year programme to re-enter the narrowbody jet engine market for the first time since 2012. The government's initial commitment is more than £300 million for research, rising to as much as half the £2.5 billion total if Rolls secures a contract with Airbus or Boeing. Healey said the investment would support 3,300 jobs across the Midlands, Bristol and the wider UK supply chain.

Rolls-Royce was shut out of the narrowbody market after selling its stake in International Aero Engines to Pratt & Whitney in 2012.

Talks stalled under former Prime Minister Keir Starmer, raising fears Rolls-Royce would develop the engines overseas.

CFM International and Pratt & Whitney currently dominate the market for engines powering the Airbus A320 and Boeing 737 families — Rolls aims to challenge them.