Rosemary Butler told Deputy First Minister and Minister for the Economy Ieuan Wyn Jones that the loss of jobs at Alphasteel in Newport just before Christmas had been a terrible blow.

The workers had been appreciative of what the Assembly Government was doing for them. But she was particularly critical of the Alphasteel management.

"This workforce has been let down by a management which has a bunker mentality," she said." The amount of help they've been offered over the years is quite astounding, but the fact is that they ignored it."

She said that the site was a prime site and was unique. And she stressed how important steel making is in Newport.

"It's really very important that we keep steelmaking in Newport. We're attracting thousands of jobs from across the UK. A lot of what has happened is because of the partnership between the Assembly Government, the City Council and others. But we cannot afford to lose quality manufacturing jobs in Wales, let alone Newport."

Wednesday January 16th