内容摘要：Of these, tariffs would be among the most pressing, particularly after Trump doubled import taxes on steel and aluminium this week, prompting warnings of EU countermeasures.

Of these, tariffs would be among the most pressing, particularly after Trump doubled import taxes on steel and aluminium this week, prompting warnings of EU countermeasures.

"The game was being played right to the very end, but to cross the Valley of Death in aerospace is very hard."What was the atmosphere like in those last days as the administrators moved in?

"It was pretty grim, we were all called into the lecture theatre and the managing director gave a speech about how the board 'had tried everything'. Then came the unpleasant experience of handing over passes and getting personal items. It was definitely a bad day at the office."This bad day was too much for some. "A few people were in tears. A lot of them were shocked and upset because they'd hoped we could pull it off right up to the end."It was galling for Mr Varvill "because we were turning it around with an improved engine. Just as we were getting close to succeeding we failed. That's a uniquely British characteristic."

Did they follow the traditional path after a mass lay-off and head to the nearest pub? "We had a very large party at my house. Otherwise it would have been pretty awful to have put all that effort into the company and not mark it in some way."His former colleague Kathryn Evans headed up the space effort, the work around hypersonic flight for the Ministry of Defence and opportunities to apply the technology in any other commercial areas.

When did she know the game was up? "It's tricky to say when I knew it was going wrong, I was very hopeful to the end. While there was a lot of uncertainty there was a strong pipeline of opportunities."

She remembers the moment the axe fell and she joined 200 colleagues in the HQ's auditorium.The Hepworth Wakefield wants to buy Sculpture With Colour (Oval Form) Pale Blue And Red, created in the 1940s, in order for it to go on permanent public display.

The oval-shaped piece, which sold for more than £3.5m in 2024, was later given apreventing it from leaving the country - providing a UK gallery the chance to acquire it.

The Art Fund charity has offered £750,000 towards the cost, however a further £2.9m is required before a 27 August deadline.If the target was not met, the sculpture by the Wakefield-born artist would go to a private buyer and be taken overseas.