MP Peter Pike is taking his crusade to save 70 jobs at the Burnley Lucas plant to the House of Commons.

The Labour MP has an adjournment debate at the end of business tomorrow on government support for compressed natural gas vehicles.

The debate will give him the chance to raise the future of Lucas Aerospace.

The Burnley MP has been a leading figure in the campaign to save the jobs and has been having talks with Energy Minister John Battle, Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott and job creation group Enterprise PLC in Lancashire, to try to hammer out a rescue plan.

A temporary two-month reprieve for 70 jobs at the Burnley aerospace plant until September follows a new order from Ford USA for the natural gas bottles used to power environmentally-friendly cars in the States.

It has provided extra time for both the workers and management in their campaign to find government or other support for the manufacturing process until demand picks up.

Workers joined management, Mr Pike and Burnley Labour Party to launch a campaign to save the gas-bottling operation and lobby parliament on the issue.

Lucas switched part of its Widow Hill plant from defence contracts to the gas bottling, part of diversification following the end of the cold war.

Gas-powered vehicles, say environmentalists, will be big business in the future but the firm has struggled to secure orders in the present.

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