The government has been urged to step up its efforts to come up with a rescue plan for Kent's doomed Pfizer plant.

Andrew Miller MP, the chairman of the all-party science and technology committee, said the government had just two months to deliver a package to salvage something from the closure and prevent a "brain drain" of top scientists.

Mr Miller said venture capitalists were waiting in the wings to invest in the site but could walk away if the government did not signal its support.

"There is probably a window of two months where it will be possible to pull something together in time for a transformation that would protect a number of highly skilled jobs.

"The risk is that people at the top of the tree, who are the most highly qualified, are the most mobile and are going to be made offers by institutes across the world," he said.

"I am aware of some of the players prepared to consider investing in Sandwich and they are extremely serious players who can lay their hands on significant sums of money.

"It does require a catalyst and it has to be the government that forces the pace.

"There is a lack of recognition that the real driver of a solution lies with the minister."

Saving even a few hundred jobs among Pfizer’s most highly qualified staff was crucial to the chances of a wider recovery in the east Kent economy, he added.

"The middle-ranking staff, such as technicians and support staff, simply will not have any opportunities unless there is some movement to bring in potential investment in life sciences."

He was cautious over the benefits of east Kent becoming a designated enterprise zone.

"They are not necessarily going to create any of the high quality jobs we are losing as a result of the closure of the Pfizer site.

"The zones are more about trading opportunities in new environments helped by tax incentives."

Mr Miller’s comments come as Pfizer confirmed a "significant number" of staff have been informed their jobs are at risk.

They will know their fate when a 90-day consultation process ends on May 1.

Some 2,400 jobs are at risk.

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