ritain's steel industry cannot be left to “lurch from crisis to crisis” and needs government support if Britain is to have a viable industrial strategy, according to MP Stephen Kinnock.

He spoke out ahead of the launch tomorrow of a cross-party report on the future of the steel sector.

Mr Kinnock, whose Aberavon constituency includes the sprawling Tata steelworks in Port Talbot, is one of a group of MPs backing the Steel 2020 report detailing the vital role of the industry and the essential part it must play in industrial strategy if the economy is to thrive post-Brexit.

The document is the product of an inquiry into the sector which took evidence from experts including business leaders, steel workers, unions and research specialists, as well government and trade officials at local, national and EU levels.

The key policy and strategy recommendations in the report are:

Radically reshaping the energy market and cutting green levies so steelmakers do not face sharply higher costs than foreign competitors

Fast, effective and punitive trade defences to prevent steel dumping, rather than the current slow and ineffective measures overseen by the EU

A “buy British” policy on steel for public projects

An end to business rates that discourage investment in new equipment

A strategic view of supply chains from government with incentives for key businesses to encourage them to buy British

Backing for R&D in the sector, to retain the UK’s world-class position in new forms of steel, with state-backed training for staff in cyclical slumps in the sector to avoid job losses

A partnership between industry and unions, with state help to mothball plants during slumps so vital skills are not lost.

Adopting these measures would create a stable environment for the steel industry, said Mr Kinnock said, adding it is “an essential part of the country’s national security”.

“It’s a foundation industry on which everything else stands,” he added. “What is needed is a partnership between staff, businesses and government with support in the inevitable downturns as we can’t lurch from crisis to crisis with the steel industry getting weaker each time.”

MP Anna Turley, a fellow member of the all-party steel group, whose Redcar constituency was devastated when SSI collapsed in 2015 with the loss of 3,000 jobs, said there would be a “Brexit dividend” for the industry.

“Our steel industry has been fighting with one hand tied behind its back,” she said. “Brexit can free us up from that.”

Away from EU rules, she said government would be able to shape procurement policy to take into account value for money and not just price, with this value coming in the form of jobs being saved by buying British.