TWO North-East MPs have called on the government to back the region’s chemical industry after chemicals firm INEOS announced its intentions to close its Teesside plant last week.

Labour's Stockton North MP, Alex Cunningham and Middlesbrough MP, Andy McDonald called on the government to ‘ensure’ the industry was protected from ‘punitive’ tariffs post-Brexit.

Last Thursday, INEOS - which operates its plant at Seal Sands near Middlesbrough and employs more than 200 workers - announced plans to consult on its closure after it had claimed ‘nothing more’ could be done to maintain its viability.

But on Tuesday, Mr Cunningham said proposals to close the acrylonitrile manufacturing plant was “extremely disappointing” and reflected the wider issues Teesside’s chemical industry faced amidst Brexit.

The Northern Echo:

Alex Cunningham, Labour Stockton North MP

Calling for action after Brexit, he said: “Our government needs to act decisively to ensure that the chemical industry as a whole is protected from punitive tariffs post-Brexit.

“More immediately pressing is need for the government to back INEOS and help the company continue its acrylonitrile plant at Seal Sands or help find someone else who will keep this vital component of chemical manufacturing open. Jobs and livelihoods are at stake – not just on the plant but across the whole supply chain – if the government does not act.”

Earlier this month INEOS blamed its lack of viability on ‘decades of significant under-investment’ from its previous owners, and a new need to invest a further £200m to keep the plant safe and economically sound.

The Northern Echo:

Andy McDonald, Labour Middlesbrough MP

However, raising concerns that the plant's potential closure could cause a knock-on effect within the process industry on Teesside, Mr McDonald said: “There is a very real threat that there will be a domino effect for the process industry on Teesside and the pieces are already starting to tumble.

"When plants relocate in the face of tariffs and delays there will be no carbon to capture.

“With my Labour colleagues, I have pushed for carbon capture usage storage (CCUS) for Teesside for many years.

"We could pioneer the Green Industrial Revolution but if we want the industries of tomorrow we need to keep the industries of today.

“I reiterate, no deal or a bad deal means we won’t have carbon to capture.

"There will be massive consequences and there is a real need for this to be discussed sensibly and openly.”