A new spanner was thrown in the works of a deal to secure 5000 British jobs at Vauxhall today as the European Commission said it is to investigate a takeover deal, which it fears could be to the detriment of European countries.

EU Industry Commissioner Günter Verheugen indicated he is to stall the sell-off of Vauxhall's parent company, General Motors Europe, by calling for a "total review" of the deal.

After GM's collapse into bankruptcy in the US, the plan is to hive off the European arm in a deal centring on Vauxhall's sister company, Opel, backed by the German governmant and led by Canadian automotive group Magna. The deal includes as an "industrial partner" GAZ, the Russian automotive firm owned by Oleg Deripaska, the oligarch who has just laid off 800 in Birmingham after the failure of his LDV vans group. Verheugen believes the GM deal could ultimately be of more benefit to the Russians than EU states.

"The European Commission cannot allow such a plan to pass automatically. It must examine it from top to bottom," Verheugen said today. "Any plan must truly offer assurances that the business will survive and will be competitive for a length of time.

"The only ones who incur a relatively low risk by participating in General Motors Europe are the Russians.

"They are going to gain access to more modern technologies and can then build up their own automobile industry, suitable for exports."