MPhitsbackatmayor’swords

Dec 12 2009 by jez Davison, Evening Gazette

AN MP has hit back at scathing criticism of the Government’s handling of the Teesside steel crisis.

The row was sparked after Middlesbrough Mayor Ray Mallon made a blistering attack on the response to the mothballing of the Teesside Cast Products plant.

Mr Mallon and Redcar MP Vera Baird were both part of a delegation that met with Business Secretary Lord Mandelson in London earlier this week.

But the Mayor broke ranks, accusing the Government of pre-election spin designed to put it and North-east Labour MPs in the best possible light.

He said: “I have now come to the conclusion that the meeting with Lord Mandelson was stage-managed to the extent that there was nothing anyone could say that would have altered the outcome.”

But Ms Baird, pictured, has hit back at Mr Mallon’s comments.

The Redcar MP said: “I walked into the room and said ‘Peter we have to save this plant, that is the first thing you must try to do’, and he said he would help in any way he could. Mr Mallon was sat three seats away from me.”

She rejected the suggestion that not enough had been done to save the plant, saying: “Mr Mallon’s entitled to his views, but facts are facts and it is not right to say nobody voiced concern and no options were put forward to save the plant.”

The MP said she would “work until I drop” to get the steelworks to stay open.

Middlesbrough MP Sir Stuart Bell has entered the row, praising the Government for delivering the £60m funding package for Teesside. And he denied it was a case of too little, too late.

He said: “It [Corus] is a private company running a private plant. We had no way of interfering before now. £60m is not to be sniffed or sneezed at.”

He also said it mattered not that the fund was made up of recycled money. “There’s no such thing as new money in this world. The Olympic Games is being paid for by redirected money.”

Meanwhile, the North East Regional Committee of the House of Commons has launched an emergency inquiry into the Corus crisis.

The Committee intends to hold sessions early in the new year with a view to reporting on the job losses, what is being put in place to aid the workers, what can be done to prevent the plant’s permanent closure and the wider implications for the region's economy.

Written submissions on these points will have to be sent by January 10.