A HIGH-POWERED delegation met administrators of Sunderland's Federal Mogul factory to explore ways of saving the firm and about 400 jobs under threat.

Sunderland City Council leader Councillor Colin Anderson, was joined by Labour MPs Bill Etherington and Chris Mullin, at a meeting with representatives of accountancy practice Kroll Buchler Phillips.

The talks, which also involved the firm's managing director Mel Dover, came a fortnight after joint administrators appointed by the court to manage the site said the plant was running at a loss and jobs could go.

Coun Anderson said last night: "We covered a range of issues and expressed our concern that if there was a redundancy situation that full benefits be paid to workers."

He said administrators were told there was the possibility of aid being obtained from the Department of Trade and Industry, while the local authority could help with cash for training the workforce.

Coun Anderson said: "The local authority helped before, when the company made substantial changes to their product line in 1983 - and we will be prepared to do that again."

Mr Etherington said the firm had claimed it needed £25m a year to give it a small margin of profit, but it was down to £18m last year. He said the administrator's prime responsibility was to creditors, not the workforce.

Mr Etherington said: "What we have got to do is to try to ensure, in the event of redundancies, that the collective agreement between company and workforce is upheld."

The deadline for interest in buying the firm is early March.

Federal Mogul, which counts Japanese car manufacturer Nissan among its customers, manufactures pistons and spark plugs.