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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/business/live/2016/mar/31/tata-steel-crisis-david-cameron-chairs-emergency-meeting-live-updates
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| Tata steel crisis: David Cameron chairs emergency meeting - live updates | Tata steel crisis: David Cameron chairs emergency meeting - live updates |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| 8.25am BST | |
| 08:25 | |
| Speaking of shambles....it appears that business secretary Sajid Javid won’t be back in London until this afternoon (or later) to tackle the crisis despite cutting his trip to Australia short yesterday. | |
| The Times has the details: | |
| The business secretary had boarded a flight to Australia, where he was meeting Malcolm Turnbull, the prime minister, hours before a board meeting at Tata’s headquarters in Mumbai to decide the future of its British steel operation. He touched down during the Tata meeting on Tuesday evening. | |
| Aides claim that they gave “serious consideration” to aborting the trip but he decided to continue because no firm decision had been made. Less than 24 hours later he decided to head home but missed the last flight and spent another night in Sydney. He will be back by mid-afternoon today at the earliest. | |
| It also emerged that ten civil servants from the business department were attending a “resilience” training course at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art yesterday. | |
| More here: Chaotic steel crisis response puts 40,000 jobs at risk | |
| Javid did at least attend a black tie dinner, before heading back to the airport. | |
| On @ITVEveningNews watch @sajidjavid attend black-tie dinner in Sydney (before he's told to return) #PortTalbot pic.twitter.com/HrN1QGRKOg | |
| 8.12am BST | |
| 08:12 | |
| Stephen Kinnock also concedes that full-scale nationalisation of Tata UK could be ‘very difficult’. | |
| But the government must “step up to the place” and make it clear that it will support the steelworks until a buyer is found, and give people a sense of hope. | |
| 8.09am BST | |
| 08:09 | |
| Stephen Kinnock: Government in 'total disarray' | |
| Stephen Kinnock, Labour MP for the South Wales constituency of Aberavon, is discussing the steel crisis now on Sky News. | |
| Kinnock says he “flabbergasted by the incompetence” shown by the government over the crisis. | |
| He says: | |
| It’s a total shambles, and it’s been a shambles for years. | |
| Steel industry has been facing problems for five or six years, Kinnock continues, including dumping of Chinese steel, expensive energy, not enough action on public procurement. | |
| It’s absolutely extraordinary that they’ve been asleep at the wheel for this long. | |
| Kinnock’s constituency includes the Port Talbot steel works, so he flew to Mumbai with union leaders this week to lobby the Tata board before it took its decision. | |
| He’s disappointed that business secretary Sajid Javid wasn’t there too, as the government knew that 29 March was “D-Day for Tata Steel”. | |
| A plan should have been put in place to provide Tata the help it needs, and squared with the European Commission to avoid state aid problems. | |
| Instead, Kinnock concludes, David Cameron is behaving as if he didn’t see this crisis coming. | |
| They’re in total disarray. They either don’t care or they’re so incompetent that they simply don’t know what they’re doing. | |
| Updated | |
| at 8.16am BST | |
| 7.54am BST | 7.54am BST |
| 07:54 | 07:54 |
| Steel crisis: What the papers say | Steel crisis: What the papers say |
| Today’s front page headlines make uncomfortable reading for David Cameron. | Today’s front page headlines make uncomfortable reading for David Cameron. |
| The Mirror accuse the PM of betraying Britain’s steel workers: | The Mirror accuse the PM of betraying Britain’s steel workers: |
| Thursday's Mirror front page:Betrayed - Government's abject failure puts 40,000 jobs at risk#tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/G7PcUHBo1B | Thursday's Mirror front page:Betrayed - Government's abject failure puts 40,000 jobs at risk#tomorrowspaperstoday pic.twitter.com/G7PcUHBo1B |
| The Guardian reports Labour accusing the government of being in disarray: | The Guardian reports Labour accusing the government of being in disarray: |
| Thursday's Guardian front page:Ministers in ‘disarray’ over steel industry#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/kD7bwJwrig | Thursday's Guardian front page:Ministers in ‘disarray’ over steel industry#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/kD7bwJwrig |
| The Financial Times says Cameron faces “acute political difficulty” over the crisis: | The Financial Times says Cameron faces “acute political difficulty” over the crisis: |
| Thursday's FT:Battle to save UK steelmaking as Tata says business worth nothing#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/aOI7ELxjSb | Thursday's FT:Battle to save UK steelmaking as Tata says business worth nothing#tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/aOI7ELxjSb |
| While Metro says Cameron’s decision to chair today’s meeting could be ‘too little, too late’: | While Metro says Cameron’s decision to chair today’s meeting could be ‘too little, too late’: |
| Thursday's Metro front page: 40,000 jobs on the line #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/XmrNz0oX8V | Thursday's Metro front page: 40,000 jobs on the line #tomorrowspaperstoday #bbcpapers pic.twitter.com/XmrNz0oX8V |
| 7.43am BST | 7.43am BST |
| 07:43 | 07:43 |
| The agenda: David Cameron chairs emergency meeting on steel | The agenda: David Cameron chairs emergency meeting on steel |
| Good morning. | Good morning. |
| David Cameron’s hopes of a quiet Easter break have been shattered by the crisis gripping Britain’s steel industry. | David Cameron’s hopes of a quiet Easter break have been shattered by the crisis gripping Britain’s steel industry. |
| Having dashed back from his family holiday in Lanzarote, the prime minister will chair an emergency meeting in Downing Street on the issue. | Having dashed back from his family holiday in Lanzarote, the prime minister will chair an emergency meeting in Downing Street on the issue. |
| Top of the agenda: How to save 15,000 jobs at Tata UK’s steel operations, which are now up for sale, plus another 25,000 workers in associated industries. | Top of the agenda: How to save 15,000 jobs at Tata UK’s steel operations, which are now up for sale, plus another 25,000 workers in associated industries. |
| What can the PM do? Ideally, the government wants to keep the steel mills running while a buyer is found. But with Tata UK’s losing £1m per day, that’s a difficult option - even though the Indian conglomerate is prepared to ‘give it away for nothing’, we hear. | What can the PM do? Ideally, the government wants to keep the steel mills running while a buyer is found. But with Tata UK’s losing £1m per day, that’s a difficult option - even though the Indian conglomerate is prepared to ‘give it away for nothing’, we hear. |
| Temporary public ownership has been mooted, to help protect workers until the business is in new hands. | |
| Union leaders are pushing for full-scale nationalisation to be considered, but business secretary Sajid Javid has already signalled that it’s not an option. | Union leaders are pushing for full-scale nationalisation to be considered, but business secretary Sajid Javid has already signalled that it’s not an option. |
| So, quite a mess, with industry insiders warning that there are just a few weeks to find a solution. | So, quite a mess, with industry insiders warning that there are just a few weeks to find a solution. |
| Cameron is also playing political catch-up. Tata’s decision to sell up seems to have come as a shock to the government, forcing Sajid Javid to scramble back from Australia yesterday. | Cameron is also playing political catch-up. Tata’s decision to sell up seems to have come as a shock to the government, forcing Sajid Javid to scramble back from Australia yesterday. |
| This left the stage clear for Labour; with Jeremy Corbyn telling Port Talbot workers last night that the PM must take immediate steps to guarantee steel’s future. | This left the stage clear for Labour; with Jeremy Corbyn telling Port Talbot workers last night that the PM must take immediate steps to guarantee steel’s future. |
| Corbyn is also pushing for parliament to be recalled to discuss the crisis. Downing Street is refusing, but a petition set up by the labour leader has now attracted 87,000 signatures. | Corbyn is also pushing for parliament to be recalled to discuss the crisis. Downing Street is refusing, but a petition set up by the labour leader has now attracted 87,000 signatures. |
| Also coming up today..... | Also coming up today..... |
| A new estimate of UK GDP for the last three months of 2015 is released at 9.30am. That is likely to confirm that Britain remains dependent on its service sector for growth, with manufacturing stuck in recession. | A new estimate of UK GDP for the last three months of 2015 is released at 9.30am. That is likely to confirm that Britain remains dependent on its service sector for growth, with manufacturing stuck in recession. |
| Chancellor George Osborne is in Paris for a meeting of G20 finance ministers. | Chancellor George Osborne is in Paris for a meeting of G20 finance ministers. |
| And Bank of England governor Mark Carney is speaking in Toyko, at a session on financial stability. Maybe he’ll have some views on the steel crisis.... | And Bank of England governor Mark Carney is speaking in Toyko, at a session on financial stability. Maybe he’ll have some views on the steel crisis.... |
| We’ll be tracking all the main events through the day.... | We’ll be tracking all the main events through the day.... |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 8.07am BST |