Javid set for EU showdown talks over steel industry crisis

Mr Javid will be meeting the EU Trade Commissioner (Cecilia Malmstrom), the Commission vice-president for jobs and growth (Jyrki Katainen) and the Industry and Internal Market Commissioner (Elzbieta Bienkowska).

The meeting comes as the Government faces pressure over the mounting crisis within the industry.

Today it was warned that thousands more jobs could be lost if action is not taken to tackle the threats facing the industry’s “vulnerable” supply chain, the Government is being warned.

The International Steel Trade Association (Ista) said scores of medium sized firms were at risk if the crisis gripping the industry escalates.

Thousands of job losses have been announced in recent weeks by Tata Steel and SSI in Redcar, Scunthorpe and Scotland, with cheap imports and high energy costs being blamed.

Chairman Jeffrey Kabel said: “There is now a real knock-on risk to various sectors including major infrastructure projects, hi-tech specialist manufacturers such as aviation and defence, as well as the automotive sector and traditional markets such as construction, as a result of the devastating news at Redcar, Scunthorpe and elsewhere.

“There is an escalating threat which is moving rapidly along the supply chain. We are not talking here solely about giant manufacturing facilities in close-knit communities, or the steel belt in Scotland and the Midlands, but small and medium-sized firms scattered across industrial estates, town-centre office buildings and ports nationwide.

The Business Select Committee is holding a session tomorrow into the steel crisis, with witnesses including MPs, the Community trade union, trade body UK Steel and Business Minister Anna Soubry.