Labour urged to step in over Tata’s plans to close steelworks days after election

Owner of plants in south Wales wants to cease operations at blast furnaces in response to strike action

Labour politicians have been urged to step in to help avert a costly mistake" by Tata Steel, which has told staff it could close operations at its steel plant in Port Talbot just days after the general election.

The Indian owner of the vast south Wales steelworks said on Thursday that it plans to cease operations at two blast furnaces on the site by 7 July - three days after the general election - in response to planned strike action by Unite members starting on 8 July. The company had planned to shut one furnace by the end of June and a second by September.