THE Tories were accused today of not believing in Britain’s steel industry, the day after hundreds of steelworkers demonstrated in Westminster to demand state support.

MPs raised fears that the “worryingly slow” government will fail to stop 20 million tonnes of steel from outside the European Union flooding the British market, following a warning from Unite general secretary Sharon Graham on Wednesday that the industry was on the “very precipice.”

Shadow business and industry minister Bill Esterton pointed out that Britain is the only G20 country where steel production is falling.

He said every other government in the G7 insists on using domestic steel in defence contracts and that Britain’s steel producers pay 62 per cent more for electricity than their German counterparts.

Claiming that his party’s £3 billion green steel plan would provide a “bright future” for the industry, he told the Commons: “Labour believes in our steel. Why doesn't this government?”

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, whose Aberavon constituency includes Britain’s biggest steelworks, added: “Hundreds of steelworkers gathered in Westminster to make it absolutely clear the government is not doing enough, particularly when compared to competitor nations in investing in the transition to de-carbonised steel — the numbers on that do not lie.

“But the government is also worryingly slow, we feel, on introducing a carbon border adjustment mechanism.”

He said trade body UK Steel estimates that almost 20 million tonnes of non-EU steel could flood the market if the government does not introduce a carbon tariff on energy-intensive imports at the same time as the EU in 2026, adding: “When will we see the government stepping up and investing in green steel, as they are in competitor countries, and when can we expect the introduction of a British sea ban?"

Industry Minister Nusrat Ghani insisted that the government supported the industry, adding that it would respond to a recent consultation on a sea ban in due course.