CORUS can talk to potential purchasers for its threatened Teesside plant after two members of a consortium gave up their exclusive right to buy it.

The steel firm couldn't negotiate with other potential buyers until Marcegaglia, of Italy and Dongkuk Steel, of Korea, decided whether they intended to continue with plans to take a majority stake in the Corus Teesside Cast Products (TCP) plant in Redcar.

Last month a four-strong international consortium, including the two firms, tore up a ten-year offtake agreement, signed in 2004, to take nearly 78 per cent of the plant's output, putting 3,000 jobs at risk.

But Marcegaglia and Dongkuk, which signed a memorandum of understanding(MOU) to buy the TCP plant, in January, had not clarified whether they intended to go ahead with that purchase.

When the MOU was signed a clause in the agreement said Corus couldnt speak to any other perspective buyer until the end of June.

Last night it emerged that the two firms had given up that exclusive right, leaving Corus free to talk to other interested parties.

However the two firms said it did not mean they would not be buying the plant.

A spokesperson for the consortium said: "Corus requested the exclusivity be removed.

"The consortium agreed to that request. In all other respects the MOU remains in place.

"The two consortium members engaged in the MOU have made clear that their immediate priority is to have Corus remove the obstacles to a constructive discussion of new commercial solutions at TCP."

Corus would not comment on the development last night.

But a source told The Northern Echo: "I think people are taking this as the two firms expressing their intent, but I also think Corus are seeing it as an opportunity to talk to other potential buyers for the plant."

Since the announcement that the consortium had pulled out of the offtake agreement high profile Government figures including Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Business Secretary Lord Mandelson have pledged their support to efforts to save the plant.

Antonio Marcegaglia, head of Marcegaglia, met Redcar MP Vera Baird in Italy and said he was willing to work with his consortium partners and Corus to find a way of preserving production at TCP.

Kirby Adams, chief executive of Corus, has also travelled to the Far East to meet with Dongkuk.

But last week the consortium said talks could only continue once Corus ceased legal action against it.

Last night Mrs Baird said: "Because Corus could surely restart any litigation at a later date if talks broke down, there is nothing to be gained for Mr Marcegaglia by making it a pre-condition that this court action stops now.

"He told me in Mantua that he did not like this law suit and he clearly wanted it to end but I certainly did not come back with the view that he would not talk unless it immediately stopped."

TCP workers will today (TUES) raise their plight at the GMB annual conference in Blackpool.

Geoff Waterfield, multi-union chairman of Corus on Teesside, said: "It's important to raise the profile of whats happening in every way that we can, to keep the pot bubbling and to make sure this stays in the spotlight.

"We know we have a lot of support nationally, and there are a lot of guys at this conference who have been through the worst scenario before, like when the Coventry (Peugeot) car plant closed, so we know there are people who identify with us and the helter skelter were on."