TONY Blair yesterday issued a fresh appeal to Corus to think again over huge cutbacks which will throw more than 1,000 steelworkers in the North-East out of work.

But the move came as relations between Corus chairman Sir Brian Moffat and the region's Labour MPs took yet another dive.

Stockton South MP Dari Taylor angrily accused Sir Brian of pulling out of meeting with her and other steel constituency MPs scheduled for today.

And Middlesbrough MP Stuart Bell condemned the company's behaviour as ''shabby'' and ''diabolical''.

In just under a week's time, the Anglo-Dutch firm is due to make its final decision on a massive wave of cutbacks involving over 6,000 jobs across England and Wales.

On Teesside, the coil plate mill at Lackenby is to close at the end of June, putting 234 men out of work.

A further 648 jobs are to go across the giant Redcar and Lackenby plant - most of them administration roles from Steel House - as well as 142 jobs from pipe mills at Stockton and Hartlepool, and another 46 jobs at Skinningrove.

Government ministers had been expected to announce aid packages to cope with the job cutbacks today, but are understood to have postponed the move until steel unions finish talks with Corus next Wednesday.

But in a sign of growing anger, steelworkers at the huge Scunthorpe plant in Lincolnshire have voted overwhelmingly to strike at compulsory job losses announced last year by Corus.

And in the Commons yesterday, the Prime Minister, MP for Sedgefield in County Durham, urged the firm to rethink the redundancy proposals.

''It is important we carry on working with the company and hope that even at this stage they can reconsider,'' Mr Blair told MPs.

In reply to a question from Ms Taylor, he acknowledged the ''sense of anger'' people felt on Teesside.

''These are well-paid jobs, highly productive and skilled jobs in areas often of high unemployment,'' said Mr Blair, who insisted the Government stood ''ready to help''.

Ms Taylor told the Commons that Sir Brian's cancellation of today's meeting was ''a continued sign of his sheer indifference to the devastation he has caused''.

But Corus last night denied there had been a definite arrangement. A spokesman said Sir Brian had decided it was better to see the MPs after the meeting with unions on February 14 - the day that marks the end of the two-week consultation period.

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