The Tories today blamed Gordon Brown's "irresponsible" comments over British jobs for British workers for the wave of wildcat strikes at industrial sites across the country.

The Tories today blamed Gordon Brown's "irresponsible" comments over British jobs for British workers for the wave of wildcat strikes at industrial sites across the country.

Shadow business secretary Kenneth Clarke said however aggrieved people felt, industrial action at power stations and oil refineries at a time of "national crisis" was not the way forward.

"We don't want to see riots in Italy about British workers, working in Italy, at a time when British companies are seeking contracts on the continent for their British workers."

But he added: "Understandable worries at the present time have been turned into direct action as a result of the Prime Minister's irresponsible use of the phrase 'British jobs for British workers'.

"This was populist nonsense at the time he used it and part of some curious Britishness agenda, which he was pursuing for reasons of his own at the time.

"It was more concerned with his job security than anybody else's job security in this country.

"We would all welcome the fact if he never repeated it, no minister ever repeated it and no such irresponsible statements are made by any member of the Government in future."

Business Minister Pat McFadden, who had repeated a statement made by Business Secretary Lord Mandelson on the Lindsey Oil Refinery dispute over the employment of foreign workers, said Mr Brown had never said he was opposed to the free rights of British companies to operate in the EU, or European companies to operate in the UK.

"What he rightly said was that as a country we needed to do more to equip the British workforce for the jobs and skills and industries of the future.

"That is precisely what we are doing."