THE British Grand Prix will be at Silverstone for the next five years after a deal was signed today between Formula One and the circuit's owners.

The agreement brings to an end months of uncertainty and acrimony between the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC) and Bernie Ecclestone's F1 organisation.

A formal announcement is understood to have been signed by the two parties late this morning.

Sports minister Richard Caborn, who has done much of the work to bring the two sides together after the British Grand Prix was left off the provisional Formula One calendar in October, welcomed the news.

He told the Press Association: 'This is a great day for the future of the motor industry in the UK.

'We have been working with the East Midlands Development Agency and the local authority to develop this industrial cluster at Silverstone and this should not only secure the long-term future of the all the teams operating out of the UK but will give the opportunity for others to join.

'This is consistent with the Government's policy of developing world-beating centres of excellence for manufacturing.'

The race had been threatened by the BRDC refusing to meet Ecclestone's price and wrangling over the length of the contract. Ecclestone originally wanted a deal totalling seven years while the BRDC wanted a much shorter term.

The row became so bitter that Ecclestone even instructed his lawyers to issue a libel writ against BRDC president Sir Jackie Stewart.

Today's agreement represents a compromise by both parties, and the path has been smoothed by the East Midlands Development Agency offering incentives to the BRDC as part of its plan to develop a state-of-the-art business park at Silverstone.

Caborn added: 'This gives Silverstone the real opportunity to become the world's leading centre for Formula One development.'