Report says chancellor to sign contract with Italy’s Leonardo, saving 3,000 manufacturing jobs at Yeovil plant

Rachel Reeves is to approve a £1bn deal to build military helicopters in Yeovil, saving about 3,000 manufacturing jobs, according to reports.

The chancellor is expected to sign a contract with Leonardo – the Italian owner of the former Westland factory in Yeovil, Somerset – to build the new battlefield helicopters, after months of speculation as to whether the historical site would survive.