THE first piece of good news for thousands of North-East steelworkers to emerge for weeks has come out of Westminster.

Teesside MPs Vera Baird and Dari Taylor say they have won assurances from debt- laden Corus that there are no plans to close the Teesside works at this stage.

The news follows weeks of concerns for Teesside's 3,600 steelworkers - and up to 7,000 contract workers - who feared that Corus would close the entire Teesside operation.

The concerns began when Corus threatened to "concentrate operations on fewer sites" in a statement to the press.

Since then, it has emerged that Corus has racked up annual losses of £412m on top of its existing £1.2bn debt.

Attempts to sell off an aluminium business to clear £500m of that debt were scuppered when internal wrangling led to a court decision blocking the move.

However, following an All-Party Parliamentary Steel Group meeting in London yesterday, Redcar MP Ms Baird and Ms Taylor, MP for Stockton South, say they have secured undertakings from Corus management.

Ms Baird said: "They specifically deny that any finger is pointing at Redcar at this stage. They say this is not 2001 and the brutal cutbacks experienced then will not occur."

Ms Taylor said: "I am glad that Corus managers agree that the Tees plant has a stable and sustainable future."

Meanwhile, a letter signed by some of the region's leading businessmen is to be sent to Corus chairman Sir Brian Moffat pleading with him not to shut down steelmaking on Teesside.

The move comes as Teesside trade unionists agreed to take part in a nationwide day of action to force Sir Brian to resign.

That has prompted Sir Brian, who set alarm bells ringing when he threatened to focus operations on fewer sites in order to reduce massive debts, to announce he will retire in the coming months.

The North East Chamber of Commerce, which has already drawn up a letter to Corus, is also working on a business case to present to Sir Brian. It hopes the plan will persuade Corus to keep plants at Redcar, Lackenby and Hartlepool open.

Meanwhile, trade unionists from across Britain held an emergency meeting in London to discuss the Corus situation.

At the meeting, Michael Leahy, chairman of a steel committee made up of various unions, called for Sir Brian to resign and threatened to stop production at every plant in Europe for one hour if he did not.

Corus replied that, although the board had unanimously agreed to ask Sir Brian to stay on as chairman, he would retire in the coming months when a successor is found.

No one was available from Corus last night to comment on the MP's assertions that Teesside's steelworks are safe for the time being.

Read more about the Working for a Future campaign here.