LABOUR blasted David Cameron yesterday for refusing to recall Parliament over the steel crisis — despite having cancelled MPs’ holidays for tributes to Thatcher.The Prime Minister shrugged off a 150,000-strong petition demanding a recall when Tata announced it was selling up, leaving Britain and putting 40,000 jobs at risk.

But Labour MP David Anderson recalled that Mr Cameron swung into action when his divisive Tory predecessor died in the April 2013 parliamentary recess, staging a debate within two days.

Labour’s emergency debate yesterday was the first time the future of the industry has been discussed by MPs — almost two weeks after Tata’s announcement. 

“We’re not discussing this formally until today and yet three years ago the Prime Minister reconvened this chamber during the Easter recess to talk about the death of Margaret Thatcher,” said Mr Anderson.

“What does that show about the government?”

The coalminer-turned-Blaydon MP also gave a personal warning to the current crop of Tories not to wreak the same destruction on steel communities as Thatcher did on mining communities.

“I’m one of the people that your government did this to some 30 years ago,” he said.

“You looked to the economics and didn’t care about the social costs that have destroyed areas like mine. You need to bear that in mind going forward.”

Shadow business secretary Angela Eagle said there would be an “intolerable” social cost if Britain’s steelworks were closed down. 

“Some people have highlighted the potential cost of intervening to save the steel industry, but I believe the costs of letting steel fail are far, far greater,” she told the Tories.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid jetted off to Australia as the crisis emerged, despite claiming to know that Tata was set to announce its sale.

Yet yesterday he claimed he was “fighting for Britain’s steel industry every hour of the day.”

He only hinted at one solid action — the announcement of new procurement rules to ensure defence projects will use British steel. 

Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock said: “The secretary of state’s claims to have been working on these things for months simply do not stack up. 

“If he really knew what was coming, why on Earth was he on the other side of the world?”