WORKERS striking at the Rolls-Royce plant in Barnoldswick have pressed the government for intervention after the company announced a Christmas lockout.

The company made the shock announcement that the plant would close from yesterday until after Christmas, with production moving overseas on Wednesday, with furlough payments only guaranteed to workers who had not been taking part in strike action.

In response, both Boris Johnson and Chancellor Rishi Sunak have faced questions in the House of Commons about what the government is doing to help resolve the dispute.

Responding to a question posed by Labour’s John Trickett MP, Mr Johnson said: “We are keen to work with Rolls-Royce to ensure that that company has a long-term future as a great, great British company.

“He makes an excellent point, and I can assure him that the government is on it.”

Meanwhile Mr Sunak said he was also urging Rolls-Royce to resolve the dispute with its workers after a statement by Stockport MP Navendu Mishra condemning its “bully-boy strike-busting tactics.”

Workers who are members of the Unite union have launched a series of strikes in opposition to Rolls-Royce's plan to move production of jet engine blades from Lancashire to Singapore, at the cost of 350 jobs.