Tata warned as sale threat fades

TATA Steel is being warned not to betray its workers as its Indian owners look increasingly likely to retain their UK business.

The Tata conglomerate put the loss-making enterprise up for sale in March, sparking a scramble to save 11,000 jobs.

Last week the Mail revealed Tata had been offered sweeteners by Downing Street to not sell up. And several potential buyers are now said to have dropped out after it was claimed Tata demanded that any new owner pays off a £900m intra-company loan. This has left a rescue looking even more unlikely – and fuelled concerns the exercise is a game of brinkmanship to get concessions out of the Government.

Labour MP Stephen Kinnock, who represents the constituency of Aberavon where Tata’s Port Talbot facility is based, told BBC Radio Wales: ‘We need guarantees from Tata that they will be in it for the long run, so we’re not back at square one 12 months from now.’