A Government Minister has launched an attack on the Stoke Sentinel, accusing it of failing to support local industry and not doing enough to promote North Staffordshire.

Trade Minister Richard Caborn hit out in the House of Commons after the newspaper revealed why millions of pounds of European aid for the region had been delayed.

The Sentinel told its readers that Mr Caborn, and his boss Trade Secretary Stephen Byers, had to withdraw their bid for assisted area status for North Staffordshire because it had broken set guidelines in the hope of getting more cash.

The region should have received £500 million on January 1 to spend on redeveloping land and infrastructure, allowing existing companies to expand and, hopefully, attracting new business to the area.

But the money has not yet arrived because the Government had to make a new bid after the incorrectly-completed application was spotted.

When the Sentinel first revealed the reason for the six-month delay, Mr Caborn said the EC had told a “pack of lies”. But, days later, Mr Byers confirmed the Sentinel story was correct.

In the Commons, Mr Caborn said that the Sentinel should be as supportive of the area as the local Labour MPs – then it might do more for its area rather than running it down all the time.

Mr Caborn also attacked the newspaper for alleged inaccurate reporting of the issue. He said that the EC had written to officially complain.

The letter from the EC’s Press and Communication Service to editor Sean Dooley complained about one quote – “you have only Mr Byers to blame” (for non-approval of the aid package). In fact, no such quote had ever appeared in the Sentinel, said Mr Dooley.

The Sentinel fiercely defended itself in a 400-word page one comment piece.

It began: “Richard Caborn is a middle-ranking government minister incapable of filling in an application form.

“A politician of modest abilities, he immodestly feels able to tell us how we ought to behave.”

The paper also criticised local Labour MPs who had failed to raise concerns about the six-month delay.

“Can you imagine these MPs keeping their mouths shut if a Conservative minister was responsible for a gaffe of these proportions?” the newspaper asked its readers.

“People here are suffering,” it continued. “They wait for jobs, investment and the expansion this money will bring. While we wait politicians play games, threaten newspapers and delay the arrival of your money through their incompetence.”

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