“This is the worst possible news and is an absolutely heart-breaking moment for all of us. Our proud history of years of steelmaking has been torn out from under us. We have been so proud of our heritage and I cannot believe it has slipped away in the space of a few weeks.
“So many people have been affected by the closure – the steelworkers and their families, the supply chain and the wider economic impact this will have on our local area. It is devastating.
“We have already committed to doing everything we possibly can as a council to support the men and women in our communities who have lost their jobs and have had their lives turned upside down.
“The Government has had plenty of opportunities to intervene but it has just allowed this to happen – it should have stepped in sooner to help.
“The £80million package provided is simply not enough, especially as it will also fund the redundancy payments.
“And any decision around the long-term future of the site should have come after the steel summit on Friday. This future of steelmaking in the Tees Valley should have been a focal point of those discussions. What is the point of making this decision prior to those talks?
“We now need to look at if the hard closure takes place as has been indicated, how we look to secure the site for the future and bring it back to contributing towards the economy in Redcar.”