by Our News Desk

MILLIONS of cars across Europe and Britain could be recalled following a probe into rigged emissions tests on Volkswagen (VW) models in the US, a transport lobby group warned yesterday.

The German car maker apologised after US government body the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found VW had cheated over clean-air rules, ordering it to recall nearly 500,000 diesel models.

But campaign group Transport & Environment (T&E) claimed the technology used in VW cars over a seven year period was also used by other car makers.

The VW devices allow diesel cars to release fewer smog-causing pollutants during tests than in real-world driving conditions.

T&E’s diesel expert Jos Dings said: “All the evidence points to exactly the same thing going on in Europe and potentially even worse.

“Diesel cars in Europe operate with worse technology on average than the US. We are the diesel market but they have dug it up because they take law enforcement seriously.”

Mr Dings warned that millions of cars could be recalled.

The US government announced it was widening the investigation to other manufacturers yesterday, while the European Commission (EC) has contacted VW and US authorities over the findings.

The Clean Air in London campaign described the effects of diesel vehicle emissions as the “biggest public health catastrophe.”

Founder Simon Birkett said: “If manufacturers have deliberately contributed to that problem in some way the only way to get to the bottom isn’t a police investigation but something that has much wider powers.

“There are a lot more questions than answers and one of the questions will be if (the practice) extends beyond one manufacturer.”