Steel output in Britain was virtually unchanged last year at 11.9million tonnes following a 24 per cent increase in 2013, said industry group UK Steel. The main cause of the disappointing result has been a growth in imports.

UK Steel director Ian Rodgers said: "The rise in the value of sterling, the demand in the UK compared with the stagnating eurozone and the slowdown in Chinese growth combined to make our market a magnet for overseas steelcompanies with excess capacity.

"We are seeing a growth in steel imports being dumped in the UK and other EU countries.

"This underlines the need for the European Commission to act vigorously to discipline unfairly traded steel imports."

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