Audi’s chairman and chief executive Rupert Stadler has been arrested following the continued investigation into Volkswagen Group’s diesel emissions scandal.

A statement from the Munich prosecutor's office in Germany said: “As part of an investigation into diesel affairs and Audi engines, the Munich prosecutor’s office executed an arrest warrant against Rupert Stadler on 18 June 2018."

A judge in Germany ordered that Stadler be remanded in custody, it said, to prevent him from obstructing or hindering the diesel investigation.

The prosecutor could not comment further due to ongoing investigations.

Volkswagen Group and Audi confirmed Stadler's arrest this morning, adding that the presumption of innocence applied to Stadler's case.

Stadler's arrest follows on from Volkswagen Group being fined one billion Euros last week due to the diesel emission tests after accepting responsibility for the “diesel crisis” before public prosecutors in Germany.

The fine - equivalent to £880 million - was imposed by the Braunschweig public prosecutor on June 13 and is one of the highest ever imposed by German authorities against a company.

VW does not plan to appeal the ruling, which came after prosecutors established that the brand had sold more than 10.7 million cars between mid-2007 and 2015 which were fitted with an emissions test defeat device.