calls have been made for a electronics firm to repay up to £17m of a Government job creation grant after it axed 850 jobs on Tyneside.

Regions Minister and local MP Stephen Byers led calls for US company Viasystems to repay the cash if it breaks the terms of its grant to set up in the area.

He was backed by NorthEast Labour MEP Gordon Adam, who criticised the company for not keeping workers at the firm's Longbenton and South Shields plants informed of developments.

He said: "The UK lags behind the rest of the EU in obliging employers to consult and inform staff of plans affecting them.

"Along with other MEPs who are members of the AEEU (Amalgamated Engineering and Electrical Union), I am looking at the possibility of strengthening EU legislation so that meaningful consultation becomes standard practice in such cases."

He added: "The fact that the company is investing in its Chinese plants and cutting its workforce throughout the US and Europe tells us that this decision is influenced by cheaper labour costs in the Far East."

The Department of Trade and Industry has declined to say if the conditions of the grant have been broken.