BUSINESS leaders have urged the Prime Minister to take action to back his claims of helping North-East trade.

The call comes after David Cameron spoke to North-East Conservatives during a recent visit to the region.

Meeting the Darlington Conservative group in Newcastle, Mr Cameron told members 300,000 private sector jobs had been created nationally over the last year, “If you want to know what the Government is actually doing here in the North-East, we are putting money into Nissan into the new electric car, we are putting money into the national renewable energy centre, we are putting money into the Tyne and Wear Metro, we are putting money into the Tees bus service,”

he said.

Commenting on the exchange, Councillor Charles Johnson, of Darlington Conservatives, said the Government’s track record has led to private sector companies announcing more than 15,000 jobs in the region since September.

He said: “We asked the Prime Minister to continue policies to stimulate the private sector recovery in order that any jobs lost in the public sector can be offset by private sector growth.”

But the North East Chamber of Commerce (NECC) said last night that if the Government failed to make more investment in the region to help the private sector, there was a danger the losses in public sector jobs would not be offset by businesses.

Ross Smith, head of policy at the NECC, said investment was needed in road links and infrastructure.

He said the Government should help businesses by addressing aviation taxation, which could put off airline operators at the region’s airports, and damage international trade to the region.

Government also needed to stop adding to the burden of regulations for businesses.

He said: “It is true that over the past few months, North- East businesses have been performing well to deliver growth despite difficult conditions.

I think the Prime Minister should be wary of trying to take credit for this. The Government still has a lot of work to do.

“It is going to need to be stronger growth, yet before it creates enough investment and employment to offset the cuts in spending and the job losses we are likely to see in the public sector in this region.”

Jenny Chapman, Labour’s MP for Darlington, accused the Conservatives of complacency.

She said: “In a week when unemployment in the region has climbed by over 5,000, Darlington Conservatives should have been challenging the Prime Minister on his lack of any plan for growth, his disastrous plans to demolish regional development agencies and his indifference to the plight of our unemployed young people.

“The Tory-led Government is cutting too far, too fast and its plans will throw thousands of more people in this region out of work.”