Nick Clegg visits rescued Redcar steelworks

Nick Clegg has been visiting Redcar, welcoming the deal to save its steelworks:

Last week Redcar owners, Tata and Thai buyers, SSI announced a deal which will safeguard 700 existing jobs at the huge site in Teesside. Nick Clegg said that the deal will also employ a further 800 new people and may see another 1,000 jobs created in the wider local economy.

He said: “It’s a great thumbs up for Teesside and the North East, for the steel industry and the UK. It’s a breath of fresh air at a time of difficult news about the British economy. I would like to pay tribute to Tata and SSI who struck this deal.”

Earlier in the week Lib Dem MP for Redcar, Ian Swales, had welcomed the news in typically pithy style on Twitter:

Yes!!!! Redcar steel deal is done