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Ministers are refusing to guarantee British steel will be used for the £55.7billion HS2 railway.

The Department for Transport will not promise to buy the two million tonnes of steel needed for the vast project from UK suppliers.

While most of the metal is expected to come from British firms , the Government’s failure to commit triggered fears ministers could buy cheaper products from abroad.

Lib Dem transport spokeswoman Baroness Jenny Randerson warned: “The Government should be doing their upmost to ensure that HS2 are using British steel on the project.

“We have a strong tradition of manufacturing in this country and as a flagship project we should be provided with a guarantee that the construction will benefit not just passengers but industries such as steel too.”

MPs were told in November that currently, “95% of steel in rail is UK steel”.

Transport Secretary Chris Grayling was asked if he believed “that record will be matched by the steel used for HS2”.

(Image: Handout)

He replied: “Absolutely ... I have made it very clear that the firms that hope to participate in this project should expect to leave a skills and expertise footprint behind in the United Kingdom, and that those that fail to do so should not expect to find themselves at the front of the queue when it comes to contracting.”

Following the comments, the Mirror, which is campaigning to Save Our Steel industry, repeatedly asked for guarantees from the DfT that British steel will be used.

But despite being offered the chance to give a the beleaguered sector a much-needed boost, a spokesman refused to commit.

He said: “We have got nothing further to add to the Transport Secretary’s words.”

Parliamentary answers show phase one of HS2, from London to Birmingham, will need 1.3 million tonnes of steel between 2020 and 2025.

Phase two, which extends the line from Birmingham to Manchester and Leeds, will need 730,000 tonnes of steel, “mainly during the second half of the 2020s”.

Building materials for stations, bridges, viaducts, tunnels and walls, and also steel in trains, rails, sleepers and slab track are included.

(Image: Daily Mirror/Adam Gerrard)

The Government has snubbed British steel for a range of bumper defence deals and faced demands to use UK steel in future public works projects.

Lib Dem leader Tim Farron leader urged Mr Grayling to guarantees British steel would be used for HS2.

But the Cabinet Minister’s deputy Andrew Jones would not offer any assurances.

HS2 Ltd “will apply a strategic and transparent approach” to buying steel through the supply chain which should “stimulate greater competition and lead to better value for money and whole life cost”, he said in a letter seen by the Mirror.

“To maximise British involvement in these supply chain opportunities HS2 has engaged extensively with businesses of all sizes from a diverse range of sectors and across the UK.

“The company is also working closely with the UK Steel, British Constructional Steel Association and the Confederation of British Metalforming.

“HS2 will continue to engage with any British business that is interested in supporting the supply chain, throughout the lifetime of the programme.”

A Whitehall source insisted: “The vast majority of steel used on our railways is British and we don’t envisage that changing.”