Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has met Sheffield business leaders to discuss the cancellation of the £80 million Government loan to Sheffield Forgemasters and said: "This is not the end of the story."
Mr Clegg, who is MP for Sheffield Hallam, met representatives of the Chamber of Commerce, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Master Cutler, James Newman, at the city's Town Hall.
Protesters outside the meeting and reporters who had gathered in the city centre believed the meeting had also included senior executives from Forgemasters.
But it emerged this was not the case and Mr Clegg met the steel firm's chairman Tony Pedder at his constituency office later.
Liberal Democrat officials pointed out the Town Hall meeting was an event Mr Clegg had been invited to and it was not arranged by him.
They said he had also spoken to the chief executive of the firm, Graham Honeyman, by telephone this afternoon.
Earlier, Mr Clegg emerged from the Town Hall meeting and pointed to a range of Government support initiatives for manufacturing but he showed no sign that the controversial decision would be reversed.
Speaking in the Town Hall foyer, he said: "Let me be absolutely clear, this is not the end of the story. I am really very, very pleased to have seen that Forgemasters has announced they want to carry on with their ambitious plans for expansion."
Mr Clegg repeated the Government's belief that the loan "simply wasn't affordable".
A spokesman for Sheffield Forgemasters said: "Nick Clegg today met with Tony Pedder, who is chairman of NHS Sheffield and chairman of Sheffield Forgemasters. The meeting was primarily to discuss health service matters. The £80 million government loan to Sheffield Forgemasters was also discussed, but not in specific detail."
