Chancellor Gordon Brown marked the launch of the new generation of the Mini with a glowing tribute to the workforce at the Cowley plant in Oxford.

Mr Brown held the workers up as a shining example of what can be achieved in modern manufacturing and said they were "paving the way to future British successes."

He added: "I want to thank the managers and the workforce - it is testament to their creativity, industry and skill that the Mini has gone from strength to strength.

"It's an example of how Britain can compete and succeed in the global economy and is an exciting symbol of a growing, dynamic economy across Europe.

"This is a great day for Mini, a great day for Oxford and for Britain."

Mr Brown, who was retracing his steps after officially launching the first generation of the new model Mini at the plant five years ago, also thanked bosses at parent company BMW for their investment which has created hundreds of jobs.

A total of £200m has been ploughed into the Mini production "triangle" with the car bodies coming from Swindon and new engines built at Hams Hall near Birmingham, with the whole thing assembled in Oxford.

About 450 jobs have been created including 200 in Cowley where £100m has been spent on extending the plant to produce up to 240,000 cars a year.

Mr Brown said: "The Mini is once again an icon of what is really great about Britain."

He was given a tour of the assembly line where he chatted to workers and was presented with a miniature pedal car version of the Mini by a group of apprentices to be given to his older son, John.

Apprentice Bhaven Yadav, 21, from Cowley, said: "He seemed impressed with what we had done and said his son would really like it."

The launch event was attended by the new chairman of BMW, Dr Norbert Reithofer, the German ambassador Wolfgang Ischinger and Richard Lambert, director general of the Confederation of British Industry.

The new generation car is currently being produced alongside the old version and will not go on sale until the end of the year.

But Mini chiefs admit all the older cars have been sold and customers may have to wait months before their car can be delivered.