Johnson made the claims at the Transforming the Print Industry event in London yesterday (3 March), which was attended by the government's skills minister Kevin Brennan.

Organised by Proskills, along with the BPIF and Unite, the day aimed to show the technological advances that print is going through, as well as exploring how to get more skilled employees into the industry.

Johnson told the event: "There are problems the BIS needs to grapple with. It is clear we [the print industry] don't have fair and proper representation at the BIS. Nobody is watching out for us."

Addressing Brennan, he said: "Your focus is elsewhere. It is wrong that a fantastic industry that has so much dynamic energy does not have a fair representation. The automobile industry is a smaller sector, but it has 50 or 60 people focused on it."

Proskills managing director Terry Watts echoed Johnson's sentiment and said that an open letter would be sent to Brennan, thanking him for his attendance at the event but putting a series of questions to him regarding the future of print in the UK.

In his own speech, Brennan pointed out the importance of the print industry, which he claimed had gone through huge change in the past 30 years.

He said: "We want to make sure the government plays its part to capitalise on new technology that is available. It is a partnership that needs all sides of the industry."

Unite's Tony Burke claimed that a skills gap was developing in the industry and reiterated the union's belief that a skills levy should be introduced.

The union carried out a survey of its print members last year, which revealed that 65% believed their company did not have a good training programme in place.

He added: "It is not all about people coming into the industry, it is also about those people who are already here with us. Those who plan and train now will reap the rewards in the future."