The Conservative mayor told BBC News: “It’s beyond belief that despite repeated warnings to government ministers, officials and the leadership at NZT, British taxpayers are set to foot the bill to import thousands of tonnes of Chinese steel into Teesside while the UK’s own steel industry remains on its knees.
“To now use Chinese steel on the very site where our own steelworks shut a decade ago is nothing short of a slap in the face.
He accused the government of having a “disgraceful disregard” for British manufacturing and British workers and said they would “rightly see this as a betrayal”.
Minister for Industry and Stockton North MP Chris McDonald said “we expect Net Zero Teesside Power to use UK steel wherever possible”.
He said: “This government and the country at large share an ambition to grow industry, open factories and create well-paid jobs in communities that need them.”