JOB fears at Tata steel were eased today after ‘positive’ meetings on the future of industry.

Tom Blenkinsop, MP for Middlesbrough South and East Cleveland, met with executives at Tata and the Department for Transport to try and secure a deal which would see the company provide track for the High Speed 2 rail link from London to Birmingham.

Mr Blenkinsop said: “I have spoken to a civil servant from Network Rail who said they have always been satisfied with the level of service Tata provides.

“The meeting was positive, I think everyone involved would agree with that. We are hopeful that if we can provide market certainty then we can mitigate against any future negative news.”

Fears about job losses started yesterday when the company marked down the value of its European operations by £1bn.

James Ramsbotham, the North East Chamber of Commerce chief executive visited Tata’s Teesside Beam Mill in Redcar today.

He said: “It is obvious that this is a company investing in its future in the Tees Valley. It is recruiting apprentices, looking at its future workforce needs and investing in new processes to improve productivity.

“The news of the writedowns is a concern, but it it’s difficult to speculate on how that will impact in our region until all the facts are known. It is safe to say that having worked so hard to secure the return of steelmaking to the North East, the region will continue to work very hard to ensure it stays here and is a success.”