West Cumbria Mining wants to dig coking coal for use in the steel industry from a ￡160million mine, bringing a "fantastic opportunity" to the Whitehaven area. Cumbria County Council approved the plan but Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick ordered an inquiry in March.

       Yesterday Gregory Jones QC, for the company, said the deep mine would provide 532 permanent jobs, 80 percent of them local.

       Coke would be imported from the US if not mined here, he added.

       But Paul Brown QC, for Friends of the Earth, said: "Every coal mine which is allowed to open, every lump of coal that is burnt, all of it contributes directly to climate change.

       "The UK can only credibly claim to be a world leader on climate practice if it practises what it preaches."

       The online hearing continues.