LINDSEY oil refinery workers rallied outside Westminster today, urging the government to prevent the closure of a plant and the loss of thousands of jobs in the local supply chain.

The North Lincolnshire site, which went into administration in June, employs 450 directly and a further 500 contracted workers.

“You’re going to lose £10 million of salary from the area,” said dad-of-three refinery worker Dave Smith.

“The message to the government is: use common sense, stop being hell-bent on trying to close the refinery.”

Refinery process operator and Unite branch secretary Fred Brown said that he stands to lose £68,000 in redundancy due to the company going into liquidation.

“If you look at what they [the government] are doing with the attempt at net zero they are not trying to make our industry better, they are just trying to cull the industry — that’s how it feels, that’s how it seems,” he added.

“They’ve just got to be better, otherwise people are not going to stand around and take it for ever, I would be very surprised if they were in power next term if they carried on the way they are going.”

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The government must take decisive action to secure a sale and protect jobs at the refinery.

“It is a disgrace that the government still has no plan to transition oil and gas workers into green jobs and we can’t let go of one rope before we have hold of another.”

The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero said that the refinery workers “have been let down by the owners. We are working closely with unions to ensure workers are supported.”