BOLTON North East MP David Crausby has welcomed the announcement by Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling that employers who refuse to pay the minimum wage could face a £200 fine for every worker they had underpaid.

Employers already have to pay back arrears they owe to the worker and now those who refuse to pay up will be penalised.

Mr Crausby said: "The vast majority of employers are honest and scrupulous, but this new measure will put further pressure on those rogue employers who continue to flout the law."

He said the Government has already helped 25,000 workers recoup £3 million in back-pay.