Emergency talks over gas price crisis continue

Talks between industry and Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng will continue on Monday over an energy crisis that bosses warn could close some factories.

Sectors such as ceramics, paper and steel manufacturing have called for a price cap, but talks with government on Friday failed to reach a solution.

But the Treasury has denied being in detailed talks with Mr Kwarteng about how to ease the soaring gas prices.

Dave Dalton, chief executive of British Glass, called that "very alarming".

He was part of Friday's talks with Mr Kwarteng, but told the BBC the meeting "was very much an introductory one. We did not get to specifics".

Mr Dalton said he had hoped the government would have made progress over the weekend, but that appears not to have happened. "We need immediate action," he said.

Trade group UK Steel told the BBC that Boris Johnson needed to take control before it was too late - although it described as "really good news" an announcement that the country's third largest steel maker, Liberty Steel, would restart operations at its plant in Rotherham later this month.

The Unite union also called on the prime minister to "get a grip" to avert job losses if companies have to shut production because they cannot cope with the increased cost of energy.

However, Conservative MP Mark Harper said the government should resist demands for financial support.

On Sunday, Mr Kwarteng told the BBC's Andrew Marr programme the situation was "critical" and said he was "looking to find a solution".

"We already have existing support and we're looking to see whether that's sufficient to get us through this situation," he said.

However, a Treasury source said the business secretary had been "mistaken" to say that he had been working on possible support measures with the Chancellor Rishi Sunak.