AMASSIVE vote of confidence in British industry was how national media outlets described last week’s £1bn Crossrail train building deal, when it went to a firm in Derby.

I had a few problems with the way this story was reported, and later trumpeted by bandwagon- jumping ministers.

Firstly, the company which won the deal – Bombardier – is Canadian, part of the group founded by Joseph-Armand Bombardier, a mechanic who started building snowmobiles in the 1930s from a small workshop in Quebec.

It has a train factory in Derby, a short hop from the constituency of Patrick McLoughlin, the Transport Secretary.

There is no suggestion that he intervened to ensure the jobs of hundreds of his constituents were safeguarded way beyond the next election.

All three shortlisted bidders, which included Japan-based Hitachi, and CAF, from Spain’s Basque country, had a fair crack of the whip.

In the run-up to last week’s announcement, Bombardier had been peddling the line that it was the patriotic choice for the coveted Crossrail deal. It conveniently overlooked the fact that had Hitachi won the deal, it would have built the trains at its Newton Aycliffe factory, safeguarding and creating hundreds of North- East jobs.

Wouldn’t that have been a boost for British industry?

The misleading tone was picked up by Business Secretary Vince Cable, who said: “As well as providing a great boost to Bombardier and the Midlands, this decision represents a real vote of confidence in British manufacturing.”

I don’t begrudge the Derby factory its victory.

Hitachi Aycliffe already has two major contracts in the bag which will keep its 730- strong workforce busy until the end of the decade. It has other irons in the fire and is bidding for train-building contracts on the Continent.

It cannot be denied, however, that missing out on Crossrail was a blow. The challenge facing Hitachi is to land enough work to secure the future of the plant well into the next decade.

In the meantime, we shouldn’t lose sight of the faith the firm has shown by investing £82m in our region to construct a factory, test track and research and development centre..

I hope that when it’s bidding for future deals, the fact that it supports jobs in the North-East is given the billing it deserves.

CONGRATULATIONS to The Port of Tyne.

Last year, the port handled its biggest cargo volumes since 1965 – the year that The Beatles film Help was released in Britain, Bob Dylan went electric and Martin Luther King was leading civil rights marches in the US.

The port is a hugely important asset to the region, supporting an estimated 10,000 jobs and contributing £500m Gross Value Added.

Its continued success is testament to the vision of its management and hard-working staff.