UK seeks details from U.S. over Fiat Chrysler diesel emission accusations

Britain said it was urgently seeking information from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency after it accused carmaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles of illegally using hidden software to allow excess diesel emissions to go undetected.

"We are urgently seeking further information from the US Environmental Protection Agency... and will also be seeking information from the manufacturer regarding vehicles in the UK market," a spokesman at the Department for Transport said on Friday.

Fiat Chrysler Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne angrily rejected the allegations on Thursday, saying there was no wrongdoing and the company never attempted to create software to cheat emissions rules by detecting when the vehicle was in test mode.

(Reporting by Costas Pitas; editing by Guy Faulconbridge)