SAJID JAVID faced calls to resign yesterday after admitting he jetted out to Australia despite knowing that Tata was set to plunge British steel into crisis during his junket Down Under.

The Business Secretary revealed that he was told a “few weeks ago” that Tata Steel would review its British operation at its board meeting in Mumbai last week.

But rather than joining a union-led delegation to lobby the company’s Indian owners, he went ahead with a taxpayer-funded tour of Australia, accompanied by his teenage daughter.

During the misjudged visit, Mr Javid was pictured in a tuxedo as he delivered a speech at a lavish dinner for business people at a casino.

Mr Javid was forced to cut the trip short to save face when Tata announced that it planned to sell all of its British operations, including the Port Talbot steelworks.

He attempted to regain political control of the crisis with an interview on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show, but his admission sparked fresh criticism of his handling of the crisis.

“A few weeks ago Tata had informed us that it was reviewing its entire steel business in the UK and with regards to Port Talbot itself they were actually considering closing it,” he admitted.

“When they made their announcement we didn’t anticipate they would go that far with the news. The strength of their announcement and how far they went, particularly in terms of timing, was much further than we expected.

Shadow chancellor John McDonnell said he was “shocked” the Business Secretary knew about the Tata board meeting in Mumbai but didn’t attend.

“It demonstrated basically that the government is still in disarray,” he told BBC Radio 4’s World at One.

“It leads me to the conclusion that I think we need someone else doing the job. We need someone who is more dynamic.

“If I was David Cameron I’d be looking to bring in someone who’s more effective.”

It was also revealed yesterday that Mr Javid refused to meet a delegation of Labour MPs over steel in March — before flying to the US to speak at the conference of a right-wing think tank.

Shadow business secretary Angela Eagle accused her Tory counterpart of sitting on his “backside” over steel because he is “in thrall to market forces, pure and simple.

“The trouble is that we’ve got a Business Secretary who seems to think that the free market will just deliver whatever it delivers and we can’t have a say in it,” she told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Mr Javid has also been forced into retreat over government intervention to support steel.

He has previously ruled out taking a stake in Port Talbot steel workers before a private buyer is found, but said all cards were on the table.

The government announced new rules this weekend that compel public bodies to use British steel in any building projects.

But Labour published a four-point plan to rescue the steel industry that went further by urging the government to bring forward major infrastructure projects that require steel.

“The Tories are in total disarray and have failed to get to grips with the steel crisis,” added Mr McDonnell.

“Steelworkers and the industry can’t afford to wait for them to get their act together, so Labour is getting the ball rolling.”