Steel contractor Cleveland Bridge has laid off 96 welders working on Wembley Stadium.
Mike McHugh, the project manager for Cleveland Bridge, said they had been working on the stadium's main structural arch, which is due to be completed next month.

He said the construction programme had not changed and that the redundancies were always scheduled to take place. "There is no need for the welders on the project once the arch is completed. Over the next six months the concentration of work will be on the main bowl structure of the stadium," he said.

McHugh denied that there were delays to the roof for the project.

He said it would not be in place until the middle of next year, and had nothing to do with the lay-offs.

One union source said that it was likely that welders would be called back to the project once welding work was needed on the roof.

He said: "We have been trying to negotiate holiday pay for the Christmas period for the workers; the talks are ongoing."