CORNWALL’S six Tory MPs were accused today of failing to stand up for the cash-strapped county against government funding plans that could put as many as 400 public-sector jobs at risk.

Environment Secretary George Eustice and backbenchers Scott Mann, Sheryll Murray, Steve Double, Derek Thomas and Cherilyn Mackrory are “failing to go in to bat” for Cornwall, the Unite union said.

It added that the county had been “hung out to dry, big time” by a shortfall in government funding while its tourism-dependent economy had been hit hard by the coronavirus crisis.

Cornwall Council plans to lay off 400 directly employed people out of its 5,600-strong workforce by March 2021, which Unite blamed on Whitehall’s failure to cover Covid-related costs and the end of the Job Retention Scheme on November 1.

The council, which is responsible for some of Britain’s most deprived areas, will be left with a £40 million deficit, the union said.

Unite regional officer Deborah Hopkins said: “Cornwall’s MPs seem to be reluctant to go in to bat for the county, even though George Eustice has a seat at the Cabinet table.

“Cornwall Council is now planning to cut 400 jobs by voluntary redundancy, but no doubt if that fails, it will be compulsory job losses – and that’s because of the failure of central government to fully fund the authority’s response to coronavirus.

“Those in the jobs firing line are often the most experienced adult- and social-care professionals who are in the front line for families hit by deprivation and, quite frankly, a depth of poverty which should not be allowed in a country which is one of the world’s richest.”

The Morning Star contacted Cornwall Council for comment.