The Northern Ireland Industry Minister, Mr Adam Ingram, flew back to Belfast for emergency talks last night, having pledged the British government's determination to save Harland & Wolff.
The Minister made his pledge as the Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, rejected suggestions by the beleaguered shipyard's chief executive that the government had offered "too little, too late" to help Harland's secure the contract to build the £400 million Queen Mary II superliner.
Against a backdrop of increasing recrimination, the Conservative Party called on the government to scrutinise carefully the successful French bid for any evidence of a breach of EU rules.
In a withering indictment of the government's role, Mr Brynjulv Mugaas said the British government's overall package "came as too little too late, and failed to address to any extent the key elements which we had advised were required by the potential customer."
Mr Mugaas praised the efforts of the Department of Trade and Industry to help clinch the deal, adding: "This contrasts starkly with the lack of ability or desire of local [Northern Ireland] departments to demonstrate any realistic support of the company."
Speaking in Scotland, Mr Blair insisted his government had given every legitimate assistance to Harland & Wolff's bid. An application earlier this month for £38 million in intervention aid had been approved within a matter of days, and the government had also agreed a "ship mortgage" worth £390 million covering 80 per cent of the project costs, the maximum allowed under EU rules.
However, in his statement Mr Mugaas raised a question mark over the scale of French government assistance to Chantiers de l'Atlantique, the French yard that won the Cunard contract.
Mr Mugaas said: "It is important to stress that the assistance which we were seeking in order to secure the contract, and the major economic benefits which it would have brought, were fully in line with existing European rules on aid to shipbuilding."
He continued: "To date the UK government and relevant departments have failed to embrace the potential of the European legislation in the same manner as national governments which recognise the importance of a maritime industry."
As the blame game continued, the Conservative Party called for close scrutiny of the successful French bid.
Mr Andrew Mackay, the shadow Northern Ireland Secretary, suggested the order could still go to Belfast if it was found that the French had flouted EU rules.
"As someone who knows Harland & Wolff well, I cannot accept that this efficient management and its hard-working employees can have put in a bid so much higher than the French without there being illegal French subsidies," Mr Mackay said.
On BBC Radio 4 Mr Ingram said he did not know if such accusations would "stack up", while indicating that if there was evidence to support them the issue could be raised with the European Commission.
However, as the frantic search continued for alternative orders to save the yard from closure, a leading Northern Ireland economist, Mr John Simpson, said Harland's bid for the Queen Mary II had not been "a likely proposition".