The government is bailing out Tata Steel. Should it have bailed out BHS?

Last month the Business Secretary, Sajid Javid, indicated the government was prepared to offer millions of pounds of taxpayer support, in the form of loans and grants, in order to help find a buyer for Tata's British steel business and protect 11,000 jobs.

Tonight one of the unsuccessful bidders for BHS has told ITV News that Sajid Javid turned down his request for taxpayer support which would have saved 8,000 jobs at BHS.

Yousuf Bhailok made an offer for 120 of the 163 BHS stores shortly after the retailer went into administration five weeks ago.

He tells me that he was prepared to invest "tens of millions of pounds" of his own money, that he had found banks who were prepared to provide funding but his bid faltered when his request for £40 million of loan guarantees from the government was turned down.

"The government is bailing out the steel industry in a way that is highly commendable, in a way that saves jobs", Bhailok told me. "We didn't ask them to inject money, we asked them to underwrite loans that the banks would give... £40 million in the context of 8,000 jobs? People's livelihoods? I think it's bloody good value for money."

As it stands, 11,000 jobs are set to be lost at BHS. The cost of making staff redundancy - estimated to be up to £12 million - will be met by the taxpayer.