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Derby business leaders were left "distinctly unimpressed" by business secretary Vince Cable's latest visit to the city following the government's decision toshun Bombardier for the £1.4bn Thameslink contract, Insider has been told. They are now set to lobby Parliament's transport select committee to show their opposition to Siemens being awarded the contract.

Bombardier announced 1,400 job losses at its Derby manufacturing plant a month after it lost out to German group Siemens to be the preferred bidder to build 1,200 carriages for a rail route between Bedford and Brighton.

John Forkin, managing director of Marketing Derby, said the "Whitehall machine seems keener to protect its processes than the UK rail industry".

He also criticised Cable's latest visit to the city claiming city leaders were "left distinctly unimpressed" and have agreed to move the campaign to London starting with a lobby at the transport select committee on 7 September.

Forkin said of Cable: "He listened carefully but it became clear that he had not been briefed about the real possibility of Bombardier exiting the UK.

"The government seems to be under the delusion that a company can simply sit around for a few years, employ thousands of people with no work to do, in the vague hope of winning a future contract.

"UK rail procurement is dysfunctional but the Whitehall machine seems keener to protect its processes than the UK rail industry. He had no answers to the charge that Siemens technology is untested or as to why Siemens was allowed to bid whilst being banned from bids by the World Bank as a result of its numerous corruption cases.

"However, he did recognise Derby as an entrepreneurial city and promised to look at how the government can help us pull through current challenges."

The development came as Derby County players took to the pitch over the weekend wearing T-shirts in support of Bombardier during their first match of the new football season.