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		</div><p>Former Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn has denied early knowledge of the company&#8217;s cheating on diesel emissions as he testified to a German parliamentary inquiry.</p>
<p>It was his first major public appearance since the 69-year-old resigned in September 2015, several days after news of Volkswagen&#8217;s use of software to cheat on emissions emerged in the US, saying that he was not aware of any wrongdoing on his part.</p>
<p>&#8220;As CEO I took political responsibility,&#8221; he told politicians on Thursday. &#8220;Believe me, this step was the most difficult of my life.&#8221;</p>
<p>Mr Winterkorn, flanked by two lawyers, told the panel in an opening statement that &#8220;it is not the case&#8221; he knew earlier than previously thought of the scandal. He said he is still seeking &#8220;satisfactory answers&#8221; as to what happened.</p>
<p>Mr Winterkorn said he would not comment on details that are a matter for a criminal investigation by prosecutors in Braunschweig, Germany, and declined to answer several questions on exactly when he knew what.</p>
<p>The former CEO acknowledged that &#8220;love of detail&#8221; was his &#8220;trademark&#8221;.</p>
<p>&#8220;It is not comprehensible why I was not informed early and clearly about the measurement problems,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>He added: &#8220;Of course I ask myself if I missed signals or misread them.&#8221; He would not elaborate on what those signals were, citing the ongoing investigation.</p>
<p>Mr Winterkorn told politicians that he appreciates &#8220;open talk&#8221;.</p>
<p>&#8220;I never had the impression that people shied away from talking openly to me,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>Volkswagen installed software on diesel engines that activated pollution controls during tests and switched them off in real-world driving. The software allowed the cars to emit harmful nitrogen oxide at up to 40 times the legal limit.</p>
<p>Mr Winterkorn reiterated his &#8220;deep dismay&#8221; that Volkswagen disappointed millions of customers and underlined his commitment to clearing up the events at the company.</p>
<p>&#8220;What happened makes people angry &#8211; me too,&#8221; he said.</p>
<p>But &#8220;I am a realist&#8221;, he added. &#8220;I have to accept that my name is closely linked to the so-called diesel affair.&#8221;</p>
<p>The German parliamentary inquiry was set up last July. It is tasked with looking into whether the German government knew about vehicles&#8217; emissions on the road diverging from their emissions in testing, and whether there were indications of the cause.</p>
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