Steelworkers' leaders have said it is a scandal that not an ounce of Scottish steel will be used in the construction of the new Forth crossing.

Mr Michael Leahy, general secretary of the Community trade union, told the Scottish Labor Party conference that the Scottish Government had no industrial policy to help level the playing field for Scottish industry to compete globally.

Delegates in Dundee backed an emergency resolution calling on the Government to carry out a full and transparent review of

the procurement process which saw steel contracts awarded to China, Poland and Spain.

Mr Leahy said he crossed the Forth Road bridge on his way to Dundee for the conference and it was a source of pride for a former British steelworker, as 90% of the steel in the bridge was produced in Scotland.

He attacked the award of the steel contract for the new bridge to foreign countries, saying that though many might think Scotland could no longer produce the steel for the bridge, there remained plants which were more productive than ever.

He said that "The TATA Steel plant at Dalzell still has the capacity and the capability to produce at least one-third of the steel required for the new bridge. And, what's more, it's less than 40 miles away from the construction site. The Chinese steel will have to travel over 12,000 miles. If nothing else, it can't be the best steel for the environment. And the rest of the steel could have been UK-manufactured too at plants in Scunthorpe and Teesside, which have been providing steel for some of the world's most iconic bridges for decades."

He claimed Mr Alex Salmond had shown a lack of political will on the issue. He predicted the First Minister would blame

European rules for contracts not going to Scots firms. Mr Leahy said that "They'll tell you that no Scottish firms bid, even though, at best, they're being economical with the truth. TATA Steel invested £8 million in Dalzell partly in anticipation of at least winning some of the business for the bridge. So we've got an Indian company investing in Scotland and a Scottish Government undermining that investment."

He accused the government of failing to ensure the procurement process included community benefit clauses, and said cost

had been the priority rather than value to Scottish industry. Mr Leahy said that "They won't recognize that Scottish manufacturing is an integral part of upstream and downstream UK supply chains."

Mr Pat Donnelly, a steelworker at the Dalzell plant, told the conference that he had been shocked, saddened and angered at what had happened. He said that "I'm shocked that there's no Scottish steel in such an iconic project as the Forth crossing. I'm saddened because I believe it's a missed opportunity to show that the Scottish steel industry is still alive and capable. But most of all I'm angered by a Government that claims to put Scotland first when in reality it does nothing of the sort."

Mr Richard Baker, Labor's infrastructure and capital investment spokesman, added that "We know Scottish firms won't get every contract, but when of the nearly GBP 800 million contract for the new Forth Crossing only GBP 20 million has gone to businesses based in Scotland and four times that has gone in the steel contract alone to overseas firms, then clearly something is going wrong."

Motherwell and Wishaw MSP Mr John Pentland, whose constituency includes the Dalzell works, said Scottish firms had been left fighting over the crumbs. He added that "Missing out on these contracts means missing opportunities to boost our economy. The Scottish Government needs to take a long hard look at itself. The Scottish Government needs to learn the lessons of this debacle."

An SNP spokesman claimed Labor's attacks were hypocritical, saying they came a week after the ministry of defense announced contracts for Royal Navy support tankers had gone to South Korea under a tendering process started by the last Labor government. He added that Labor led Strathclyde Passenger Transport gave contracts for the regeneration of Glasgow's subway to a Czech firm.