LABOUR MPs last night stepped up their battle to win the region a slice of vital government shipping orders worth over £1bn.

Defence Secretary Geoff Hoon is poised to announce whether shipbuilder Cammell Laird will share in a £1bn contract to build six roll-on, roll-off ferries for the Royal Navy.

The company, with yards on Tyneside and Teesside, is part of a consortium bidding for the work.

Meanwhile, rival Tyneside yard Swan Hunter is in the running for a £138m contract to build two landing ships for the Royal Navy.

Yesterday, North-East Labour MPs, including Stockton South's Dari Taylor, urged Mr Hoon to send the work to their region.

The MPs, led by Northern group chairman and Blyth Valley MP Ronnie Campbell, hammered home the point that North-East shipworkers should not be denied work by unfair competition from the Far-East or Europe.

The roll-on, roll-off ferries are classed as commercial vessels and the UK government cannot exclude tenders from around the world.

But Ms Taylor repeated widespread fears that foreign yards in the Far East and Europe effectively break the rules by providing unfair state subsidies to undercut British bids.

And last week, Cammell Laird chairman Juan Kelly wrote to Mr Campbell, saying: "Our building yards on Merseyside and Tyneside are situated at the heart of two of the poorest regions in the UK.