Furious MPs hit out earlier today after Britain’s once-proud steel industry was barely even mentioned in the Government’s new industrial strategy.

Campaigners accused Theresa May of “betrayal” after her new 132-page industrial strategy green paper included just a single, passing reference to reviving UK steel.

It was buried on page 94 in a section on energy efficiency, and bracketed alongside glass-making and ceramics.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on steel, said: “I was astonished to see that in this 132-page document, steel gets just one passing mention.

“That is simply unacceptable, and serves only to confirm this government’s approach to the steel industry is characterised by a toxic combination of incompetence and indifference.”

The Government strategy was published just hours after the APPG unveiled its own big report on reviving the steel industry, making 43 key demands to Government.

Redcar MP Anna Turley, a fellow member of the group, added: “It is unbelievable. Steel industry campaigners in my local area will feel totally deflated.

“Despite all the campaigning, despite all the noise, despite the fact the industry has been lurching from crisis to crisis, it still doesn’t seem to warrant a place at the Government’s top table.

“That is really disappointing when you consider how many jobs we are talking about.”

Mrs May had promised to put a ‘modern industrial strategy’ at the heart of her new approach to the economy after taking over as PM last summer.

The long-awaited document published yesterday promises a new ‘active’ Government after years ofDavid Cameron’s disastrous hands-off approach.

But there is almost no new funding on offer - and precious little detail on how Britain’s grand industrial revival will be achieved.

Steel is mentioned only in passing, in a section which admits energy costs are too high for many heavy industries.

But the only answer offered is a promise of a further plan to bring down energy costs later in the year.

“The Government will set out a long-term roadmap in 2017 to minimise business energy costs,” the document states.

The paper also hints at further cuts to green energy schemes such as wind farms to cut energy bills for consumers and businesses alike.

And it vows to improve technical education to plug skills gaps for heavy industries in the years to come.

But Lib Dem MP John Pugh said: “This strategy is not the worth the paper it is written on.

“This is a betrayal of the steel industry, its workers and the businesses in the supply chain that rely on it.”

The central new promise in the strategy is the introduction of ‘sector deals’ with Government for key parts of the economy.

Industry leaders will be encouraged to come forward with specific proposals for the Government to “transform and upgrade” their own sectors through de-regulation and other types of intervention.

The green paper says work is already underway in several areas including life sciences, electric cars and new nuclear power.

But once again, there is no mention of steel.

Under pressure in the Commons, Business Secretary Greg Clark insisted the steel industry could also be in line for a sector deal and remains a key priority for the Tory Government.

“I have already met with steel chief executives. I look forward to that being one of the deals put forward,” Mr Clark told MPs.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister added: “The Government is very much of the opinion is that the steel industry is an important part of our industrial landscape.

“This is a very broad paper outlining industrial strategy for all sectors across all parts of the UK.”