Empey calls for action after Shorts lay-offs

The North’s acting First Minister, Reg Empey, has called for the establishment of a coalition to fight the economic effects of the attacks in the US earlier this month.

Mr Empey said the potential loss of 2,000 jobs at Shorts Aerospace in Belfast over the next few months is a "daunting prospect".

He has called on the British Government to respond quickly to the threat now developing in the aviation and aerospace industries.

He said 2,000 well-paid manufacturing jobs in the North are the equivalent of 70,000 jobs in Britain.