Volkswagen loses 'dieselgate' class lawsuit in UK

A UK court has ruled against German car manufacturer Volkswagen in a case brought by owners of Audi, Seat, Skoda and Volkswagen cars in England and Wales as part of the "dieselgate" emissions scandal.

Lawyers representing the group of almost 90,000 vehicle owners said the German company knowingly installed illegal devices on cars to get around European emissions restrictions which would have led to a huge decrease in the production of nitrous oxide.

Their lower greenhouse gas emissions meant diesel vehicles were once regarded as a cleaner alternative to petrol engines, but instead they produce far higher levels of irritant gases such as nitrogen dioxide.