Ministers are also said to want the right to exert high level management control at JLR, including the right to choose a chairman and sit on the board.

The Government also reportedly demanded the right to veto any redundancies.

If Tata did close Halewood it would be embarrassing for Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson ahead of a General Election, which must be held within the next year.

He previously praised the company for its “very strong” record of investing in new, green technologies.

In January, he said the Government would meet bosses to discuss “what appropriate help and interventions we can provide”.

But four months later came the revelations of the Government’s tough conditions for such action.

Howard Wheeldon, senior strategist at BGC Brokers, in London, called ministers’ demands “a disgrace” at the time.

He said: “It’s tantamount to throwing the best of the best of the highly valuable British luxury car industry and export potential into a den of wolves.”

JLR recently unveiled the latest version of its Jaguar XJ in the hope the new flagship vehicle will revive its struggling sales.

But it is similarly thought to be drawing up other contingency plans including extended closures over the summer and another round of job cuts.