Local newspaper staff have been invited to London to brief the trade and industry secretary Patricia Hewitt on the north east steel crisis on the day before she visits the region.

Evening Gazette editor Steve Dyson and political correspondent Bill Doult will meet her at her offices tomorrow afternoon.

They were called to give her vital background information on the industry before the minister’s visit to Teesside the following day, where she is due to meet Corus workers at the threatened Redcar and Lackenby plants.

The Gazette will consult with union leaders, Redcar and Cleveland Council and other regional bodies before the meeting, to make sure the most important issues are put before the Government. Readers were also being asked for their views.

Steve Dyson said: “The Government feels the steel crisis is of such magnitude that they want the Gazette – which has been seen to reflect the feelings and concerns of Teesside’s readers – to help them understand the issue.

“We will make sure that Mrs Hewitt and her department is given every cough and spit of what is happening on Teesside regarding steel during the meeting, and this will include a full report of the Steel Summit itself.

“Most importantly, we shall highlight the strength of feeling on Teesside that the Government needs to be proactive and influential in what happens now.

“Far too often the London media and therefore the Government itself ignores the plight of the north east – especially Teesside. It’s vital that this newspaper acts to correct this bias.

“Because the steel crisis is not some small private matter for Corus to work out secretly. It is an issue of crucial importance for the economic stability of the whole of Teesside, and this means the Government should be heavily involved.”

The minister’s request for help is less than three weeks after the Gazette’s ‘Steel Summit’ which was attended by hundreds of workers and their families, national union leaders, MPs, Government representatives and the region’s key movers and shakers.

And after coverage in the press, on radio and TV, Mrs Hewitt is understood to be keen to ensure that she fully understands the importance of the steel issue not only to Corus workers, but also to the general public on Teesside.

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