CARMARTHEN East and Dinefwr MP Jonathan Edwards used Prime Minister's Questions to urge David Cameron to become "temporary head of sales£ for the Welsh steel industry in the wake of Tata Steel's sale of its Port Talbot plant.

Mr Edwards asked the Prime Minister to urgently meet the firm's 20 biggest customers, who make up around 50 per cent of the company's sales, to ensure orders do not go elsewhere.

Speaking after his question, Mr Edwards said Mr Cameron had previously courted senior directors of the EU's automotive industry to promote UK business and called on him to do something similar for the Welsh steel industry.

"News of a management buy-out at Port Talbot has brought hope to the 18,000 people whose livelihoods are supported by Tata Steel in Wales – including here in Carmarthenshire where businesses and jobs are dependent on the supply chain," said Mr Edwards.

"A management buy-out has increasingly been seen as the only hope of keeping the Port Talbot blast furnaces firing. Such a buy-out - proposals for which were confirmed at the weekend - is a made-in-Wales solution to the biggest industrial emergency in Wales for the last twenty years.

"The UK Government needs to take a stake in the business and work on its behalf to ensure Port Talbot's most significant customers do not go elsewhere.

"I believe the Prime Minister should take personal charge and become the company's temporary head of sales, with his first task being to urgently meet with the company's 20 biggest customers to ensure they stick with Port Talbot.

"Back in 2011 he invited the most senior directors of the EU's automotive industry to Downing Street to secure jobs and promote the UK as the place for investment. The PM now needs to do the same and ensure TATA's order book isn't affected.

"Doing so would be a profound statement of support for the workforce in Wales and would be a symbol of confidence in the Welsh steel industry."