Terry Pye Says Corus "mothballing" is a "disgraceful charade"

Unite has accused the owners of the Corus steel plant in Teesside of rejecting serious offers to buy the plant which would save thousands of local jobs.

Corus's Indian parent company Tata confirmed last week that it will be ending the 150-year history of steel making in the area.

Complete closure of the plant would cause 1,600 job losses immediately and "have a devastating effect on the local community," while a further 8,000 other jobs dependent on the plant would also be put at risk.

Before Business Secretary Peter Mandelson's scheduled visit to the site yesterday, a "credible" consortium wishing to submit a bid emerged.

The mayor of Middlesbrough Ray Mallon and local football club chairman Steve Gibson called for the consortium to be given more help in putting together its offer.

Mr Mallon said: "This is a deal worth investigating.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said that he had spoken to Tata's owners and Corus chief Kirby Adams. He insisted: "We are still trying to find new owners for the site. A lot of work is being done behind the scenes."

But Unite's national officer for the steel industry Terry Pye said the mothballing of the plant was a "disgraceful charade" and he contested the official Corus line.

He said: "Corus is trying to give the impression that it wants to mothball the Teesside site with a view to sell it once they have interested buyers.

"However, Unite think this is a smokescreen. We are aware that serious offers have been made to Corus that would allow production to remain at the plant, but the management has dismissed them all out of hand."