Every Mercedes-Benz car sold in Britain in the past six years is to be recalled by the German vehicle giant Daimler amid a scandal over ‘faked’ emission results.

Owners of nearly every model made by the firm will be asked to return their cars so the engines can be adjusted to reduce the amount of pollutants they emit.

It follows the launch of an investigation by the German authorities in May into allegations of fraud and criminal advertising by employees of the firm relating to the possible manipulation of exhaust controls in cars with diesel engines.

As part of the investigation hundreds of police officers and prosecutors searched Daimler sites across Germany. The company has said it is cooperating with the investigation.

The decision to cut emissions from around three million existing vehicles across Europe will cost the company about £195 million (220 million euros).

It comes amid continued scrutiny of the company’s emissions systems by the German government and calls for bans on diesel engines in the country’s cities.

There has been calls for a ban on diesel cars in some German cities because of concerns about levels of nitrogen oxide they emit.