NEWPORT city council bosses were today set to face tough questions over whether more could have been done to save LG Philips Displays.

As the Argus revealed last week, almost 900 jobs are to be axed as LG announced the closure of its operations at Newport's Imperial Park.

But the leader of the Opposition, Conservative councillor William Graham, said yesterday that he had been aware of the potential closure of the site last year, and will challenge the council's cabinet to explain what was done to try to protect the workers against the loss of their jobs.

Councillor Graham was to address the cabinet in a full council meeting today. He told the Argus: "The LG closure was a rumour for as long as a year.

"Union officials showed me an internal memo about a site review and I expressed my concerns publicly.

"What I want to know is what, if any, action was taken then.

"There should have been incentives offered to Philips management in return for bringing new product lines to Newport.

"Firms like LG are the industries of the future and the plant closure will have impacted very negatively on our reputation.

"Maybe action was taken and it was found nothing could be done but that's what I want to know."

Newport's cabinet member for development, Councillor John Jenkins, has already pledged to help LG's workers find new jobs, saying: "I want to assure all of the employees at LG Philips that we will work closely with the Assembly, Job Centre Plus and other agencies to put in place training and job search opportunities."

Councillor Graham said he was also concerned the £60m plans for a new campus of the University of Wales College, Newport, on the banks of the Usk could be undermined by last week's announcement at LG.

The proposed campus, exclusively revealed by the Argus on Saturday, would house courses in design, engineering, computing and business studies among others. "I'm sure the university will go ahead but the closure of the LG plant certainly won't have helped," he said.

"The success of courses could be undermined by big name closures like LG."