Harland and Wolff: Council to hold emergency meeting

Workers closed the shipyard's gates on Monday

An emergency meeting of Belfast City Council has been called for Friday to discuss crisis-hit Harland and Wolff.

SDLP and Green Party councillors tabled a motion to set up a forum on the shipyard's risk of closure.

Shadow NI Secretary Tony Lloyd, who will meet the unions on Thursday, said Harland and Wolff was "equipped to build the ships of the future".

On Wednesday, workers delivered a letter to the PM urging him to renationalise the shipyard.

Unions say the shipyard is at risk of closure after its parent company ran into severe financial problems.

• Shipyard crisis 'a commercial issue'

• 'Unacceptable' losses at Harland and Wolff

• Concern over Belfast shipyard future

Mr Lloyd said saving Harland and Wolff was not just some "romantic spasm".

"We know there'll be a billion pounds of Royal Navy ships being built in the weeks and months to come," he told BBC News NI.

"It seems very, very sensible that they should be built in the UK.

"If a private buyer comes in, that's great. But the government, in the end, cannot see the skills base, cannot see the infrastructure that Harland and Wolff has got, scrapped."

What is Harland and Wolff?

Harland and Wolff is one of Northern Ireland's best-known businesses and its two huge cranes dominate the east Belfast skyline.

It was founded in 1861 and at the height of production during World War Two employed about 35,000 people.

Its best known vessel is the Titanic, which was built at the yard between 1909 and 1911.

'Still hope'

The city council forum will include the government, Stormont's Department for the Economy, trade unions and Invest Northern Ireland.

SDLP councillor Brian Heading told BBC News NI's Good Morning Ulster programme that there is still hope for the workers and they had cross-community support.

"The proposal to call a meeting on Friday was signed by a number of political parties across the spectrum of Belfast City Council," said Mr Heading.

"It was good to see the chants taking place outside Stormont. I think everybody in Belfast sees the importance of keeping the yard open."

On Tuesday, the government said the crisis at the Belfast shipyard is "ultimately a commercial issue".

A government spokesperson said there was "every sympathy for the workers" and that they would "do all it can" to offer support.

DUP leader Arlene Foster said she had spoken to the PM about the issues facing Harland and Wolff and Ballymena-based bus manufacturer Wrightbus.

"We will continue to work the prime minister and his team to try and find solutions on these areas," she said.

An extract from the letter sent to the prime minsiter

The firm's Norwegian parent company Dolphin Drilling put Harland and Wolff up for sale late last year.

There were exclusive negotiations with a potential buyer, but they cooled in the last two weeks.

It is understood administrators are now expected to arrive on Monday.

A rally in support of the shipyard workers took place in east Belfast on Tuesday

On Monday, workers said they had taken control of the site and established a rota to ensure their protest continues around the clock.

The yard employs about 130 people, specialising in energy and marine engineering projects.

They said they would continue the protest until a solution is found.