He told parliament: "I'm pleased to say that I had an opportunity very recently to talk to (Airbus Chief Executive) Tom Enders and ... his successor Guillaume Faury ... to assure them of the government's commitment to make the UK a hospitable and attractive place for Airbus to continue to do business."

Airbus warned last week it could shift future wing-building out of Britain in the absence of a smooth exit from the European Union.

(Reporting by Stephen Addison; Writing by William Schomberg)