One of the biggest steelmakers in Britain, second in size only to Tata, has said there is no guarantee that the industry will survive if the government fails to step up its response to the current crisis.
As the business secretary, Sajid Javid, prepared to travel to Mumbai for talks with the Indian multinational, the managing director of Celsa UK, Luis Sanz, asked why the British arm of his company was paying twice as much in electricity costs and eleven times as much in business rates than its operations in France and Spain.
In an exclusive interview, Sanz argued that other European countries had a “clear industrial strategy” that recognised the importance of steel.
He criticised the UK for reacting when it faced terrible consequences rather than taking proactive measures. “In other European countries they saw these problems coming and acted in advance,” he said.
Javid will try on Tuesday to deflect criticism of his handling of the crisis as he scrambles to try to secure a deal for Tata’s loss-making British assets. The business secretary will first attend a series of meetings in the UK, including with tycoon Sanjeev Gupta, a potential buyer who has said his company, Liberty House, would only take on the project if it could avoid “mass redundancies”.
The comments may provide some reassurance to 15,000 Tata Steel workers who are concerned about losing their jobs.
Javid will also join David Cameron and the chancellor, George Osborne, for a discussion with Welsh first minister, Carwyn Jones, before a hastily arranged trip to Mumbai, in India, to discuss the unfolding situation with Tata’s chairman, Cyrus Mistry.
Cameron insisted that the government was “doing everything it can to find a long-term, viable solution to save the Port Talbot steelworks”. Speaking ahead of the meeting with Jones he said he wanted to “end the uncertainty for workers and their families”.
It was another dramatic day on Monday in the ongoing efforts to save the steel industry in Britain, in which:
Source: The Guardian