CONFECTIONERY giant Cadbury Trebor Bassett has been issued with a series of hard-hitting questions from MP Ivan Lewis, who is fighting to save the former Hall's factory in Radcliffe.

The Bury South MP has demanded to know the identity of the individuals who approved the decision to close the Dumers Lane factory next year and he wants to see the company's accounts.

The closure would mean the loss of 310 jobs and in his letter Mr Lewis asks: "How can a company, which preaches corporate social responsibility, take a decision which is not supported by conclusive evidence of the benefits?"

He also asks: "Radcliffe is regarded as a Centre of Excellence. What account has been taken of this?"

Mr Lewis has requested a meeting with the chief executive or chairman of Cadbury Trebor Bassett to discuss the matter face-to-face, but has sent his letter of questions in the meantime.

He wants to know if the decision-makers are even aware of the local history of Hall's production, which has been going for 120 years, and how much it will cost to close the Radcliffe operation, including redundancy liabilities.

Cadbury's announced the proposals to axe the factory last month, claiming it made better financial sense to move production to the Americas.

Before the announcement there had been tentative plans to build a multi-million pound factory to replace the existing building when the lease expired in 2005, in order to comply with Medicines Control Agency (MCA) requirements. This would have ensured the continued presence of the company in the town.

Again, Cadbury's blamed financial reasons for abandoning this idea, saying that it would require "significant financial investment". However, Mr Lewis is determined not to let them off the hook and has asked for specific details as to the amount of money it would actually cost the global multi-million-pound firm to meet the MCA requirements in Radcliffe.