Following the news that chemical plant Ineos on Seal Sands is facing closure, Andy McDonald, MP for Middlesbrough, 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.”

Jude Kirton-Darling, Labour MEP for the North East, said: “This is devastating news for the hundreds of employees at risk of losing their jobs, as well as for the North East as a whole. Our region has suffered enough at the cruel hand of Tory austerity and the empty promises of a Northern Powerhouse are starting to show for what they truly are.

“I stand in solidarity with the many Teesside workers whose jobs are at risk and call on the government to step in at this crucial time, to help save the Seal Sands plant and avoid wider ripple effects. They should have listened to our regional chemical sector who have been loud and clear about the implications leaving the Single Market would have on the industry. Brexit has and will continue to bring more than enough uncertainty and economic damage to our region – this further blow unnecessarily adds to the ordeal.”