A rail union is considering legal action over a Government decision which led to hundreds of Sussex jobs being created.

The Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said it was taking legal advice over a potential challenge on the grounds that the tendering process for the contract to build carriages for the Thameslink route between Bedford and Brighton was “loaded” against the UK workforce.

Canadian-owned Bombardier lost out to German group Siemens as the preferred bidder on the £1.4 billion contract to build 1,200 carriages, leading the firm to announce that, with other contracts coming to an end, 446 permanent jobs and 983 temporary contract staff would be cut in the Midlands.

The selection of Siemens meant the creation of more than 600 jobs building and maintaining the carriages in Crawley.

RMT leader Bob Crow said: “The failure to factor in the wider economic impact in the east Midlands makes a total mockery of the Government’s core claim that Siemens represented best value for the British taxpayer.

“If that was the g rounds for killing off Bombardier then clearly it was based on a total lie and that may be g rounds for a challenge.