Coronavirus: MPs urge chancellor to support steel firms

Tata Steel runs the UK's largest steel works in Port Talbot

Ten Welsh MPs have signed a letter calling for the chancellor to give extra support for the steel industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Labour and Plaid Cymru MPs said demand was down 80% and steel firms faced a "cash-flow crisis".

It comes after Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock said Tata Steel would need £500m to weather the crisis.

Rishi Sunak is yet to respond, but Westminster has previously said it is engaging with all industries.

In the letter to the chancellor, the MPs say steel producers will play a "critical role" in the nation's economic recovery.

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They talk of the "increasingly urgent need to provide financial support today to enable them to fulfil this role tomorrow".

"To date no steel producer has managed to receive the support it requires," the letter says.

"The economic arguments are clear - for each and every tonne of British steel that goes into infrastructure, £700 is added to the UK economy.

"With millions of tonnes required, UK steel makers can boost the economy by billions in the years ahead."

Their requests include:

• Speeding up and simplifying the Treasury's approval process for company specific support

• Ensuring money is available in days "not weeks"

• Replacing the current £50m "loan ceiling" for large businesses with one related to a company's turnover

On Monday, the UK government said it had put together "a far-reaching package of support to help businesses through the coronavirus pandemic".

"We continue to regularly engage with businesses across all sectors, including those in the steel industry," a Westminster spokesman said.