UK to pledge investment to aerospace industry

The UK government is set to pledge ahead of Wednesday's budget, a significant investment into the country's aerospace industry as part of a long-term strategy to spur growth and keep the industry ahead of international competition.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg is expected to make the announcement on Monday as part of the Aerospace Growth Partnership-an existing government initiative to support the industry.

According to reports in the British press the investment is expected to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds and is expected to run for 10 years, beyond the life of the coalition government.

The plan will involve funding from money committed by companies such as Airbus , Bombardier and Rolls-Royce - being matched by the government, Sky News reported.

Faced with the risk of a third British recession since the 2008 financial crisis, the government is under growing pressure to act and is expected to announce some measures to help investment in infrastructure, possibly offset by spending cuts elsewhere.

(Reporting by Karen Rebelo in Bangalore; Editing by Bernard Orr)