MPs have pleaded with ministers not to give up on 170 years of steelmaking in Teesside following the closure of Redcar's steelworks.
In a highly emotional speech in the House of Commons, local Labour MP Anna Turley said the government had "thrown the towel in" and begged: "Please, keep the plant alive." Labour's Kevin Brennan accused ministers of an "unforgiveable betrayal" by "losing an irreplaceable strategic national asset without a fight".
It was announced on Monday that the coke ovens and blast furnace at the steelworks will close because there is no "realistic prospect" of finding a buyer, and an estimated 2,200 jobs will be lost. The steel plant, which was opened in 1917, had been in the hands of receivers after its Thai owner Sahaviriya Steel Industries went into liquidation earlier this month.
Business minister Anna Soubry said MPs had to face the "harsh reality" that the coke ovens "were losing £2 million month on month". She said bluntly: "The government have done all they can and now we have to look to the future."
Soubry was forced to speak to MPs about the closure of the steelworks through an "urgent question" – which requires a minister to come to the Commons – from Labour's Tom Blenkinsop. He said: "The last shift at Redcar coke ovens pushed the final bed this morning. One hundred and seventy years of steelmaking have come to a terrible, shuddering halt in only four weeks."
Blenkinsop, who represents Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, warned that a government pledge of £80 million to support the steelworkers was just a "public relations gimmick", adding: "There is no new money." Soubry insisted that of the £80 million package, at least £50 million would be new.
But the debate grew increasingly fractious, with Labour MPs accusing the government of failing to help the workers. Soubry hit back: "I will accept some criticisms, but to say that I have not fought for Redcar is outrageous because it is not true. There is no point shouting as it does not achieve anything. I was on the phone on that Friday night until 9 o'clock in the evening, and along with the secretary of state and my officials, I was literally going around looking for sums and pots of money to help. The harsh reality is £0.5 billion of losses over five years."
Turley pleaded with the government for one last chance. "The minister is overseeing the death of 170 years of steelmaking on Teesside," she said. "It does not have to be the end – the site is still viable. You've thrown the towel in."
She added: "We have companies willing to invest. We have companies willing to come in and supply the coke ovens to keep the plant running and to do the mothballing. You are not giving us time. You are just throwing the towel in. The official receiver has not done proper diligence. We can find buyers, we just need three months. Please, keep the plant alive."
Labour's Nick Thomas-Symonds pointed out that former Tory deputy prime minister Michael Heseltine had famously promised to "intervene before breakfast, before lunch, before tea and before dinner" to help British business. He asked: "Might the minister not regret the fact that she did not save steelmaking on Teesside?"
Soubry replied: "It would not be fair on his constituents if we were to try to bail out Britain's steel industry, which would probably cost £1 billion a year."