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| Tata Steel: Sajid Javid meets potential buyer Sanjeev Gupta | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The man interested in buying Tata's British steel operations, including Port Talbot, has been meeting the business secretary for talks. | |
| Sanjeev Gupta, chief executive of the commodities firm Liberty House, met Sajid Javid to discuss his potential plans. | |
| Earlier, Mr Gupta told the BBC he would be interested in the whole business. | Earlier, Mr Gupta told the BBC he would be interested in the whole business. |
| "Many [parts] are loss-making at the moment but we believe they can be turned around," he said. | "Many [parts] are loss-making at the moment but we believe they can be turned around," he said. |
| However, he reiterated his doubts about the viability of the blast furnaces. | However, he reiterated his doubts about the viability of the blast furnaces. |
| "The biggest problem we see is the blast furnaces because they are importing all their raw material to smelt steel." | "The biggest problem we see is the blast furnaces because they are importing all their raw material to smelt steel." |
| UK steel crisis | UK steel crisis |
| 'Substantial support' needed for steel | |
| Who might buy Tata in Port Talbot? | Who might buy Tata in Port Talbot? |
| What's going wrong with Britain's steel industry? | What's going wrong with Britain's steel industry? |
| Tata Steel UK: What are the options? | Tata Steel UK: What are the options? |
| Is China to blame for steel woes? | Is China to blame for steel woes? |
| Expand production | Expand production |
| He said Liberty House's alternative suggestion would be to still make hot metal, but to make it from local raw scrap material rather than imported raw material. | He said Liberty House's alternative suggestion would be to still make hot metal, but to make it from local raw scrap material rather than imported raw material. |
| "Making new steel doubles our carbon footprint, "he said. | "Making new steel doubles our carbon footprint, "he said. |
| "There is a way of making steel in the UK which has a much lower carbon footprint that what we currently do. | "There is a way of making steel in the UK which has a much lower carbon footprint that what we currently do. |
| "At the moment we export our scrap and bring back steel - we import 6 million tonnes of steel. I would like to see more of that being made here. So our commitment would be not just to produce what is currently produced but actually to expand production eventually in due course. " | "At the moment we export our scrap and bring back steel - we import 6 million tonnes of steel. I would like to see more of that being made here. So our commitment would be not just to produce what is currently produced but actually to expand production eventually in due course. " |
| About half of Port Talbot's 4,000 employees are working in the blast furnaces and on the coke side, but Mr Gupta said his intention would be to redeploy all of them. | About half of Port Talbot's 4,000 employees are working in the blast furnaces and on the coke side, but Mr Gupta said his intention would be to redeploy all of them. |
| When pressed as to whether that meant there would be no redundancies at all, he said: "That would definitely be my objective, yes." | When pressed as to whether that meant there would be no redundancies at all, he said: "That would definitely be my objective, yes." |
| Buyers 'coming forward' | Buyers 'coming forward' |
| Separately, the business secretary told the BBC that it was "great" that there was interest in Tata's UK business from Liberty and others. | Separately, the business secretary told the BBC that it was "great" that there was interest in Tata's UK business from Liberty and others. |
| Mr Javid said "the important thing is where the buyers are coming forward we are ready to work with them". | |
| Tomorrow he is due to meet the Tata chairman Cyrus Mistry in Mumbai. | Tomorrow he is due to meet the Tata chairman Cyrus Mistry in Mumbai. |
| While there he wants to get a final agreement on the sales process. | While there he wants to get a final agreement on the sales process. |
| "I want to make sure that when the documentation for that is issued that it's clear that the UK government understands it's got a role to every potential buyer and that we are well coordinated with Tata," he added. | "I want to make sure that when the documentation for that is issued that it's clear that the UK government understands it's got a role to every potential buyer and that we are well coordinated with Tata," he added. |
| 'Positive experience' | 'Positive experience' |
| The Unite general secretary Len McCluskey and representatives of the steel union Community are also meeting Mr Javid today. | |
| Matt Ball from Community said they plan to give him a message for Mr Mistry that Tata "needs to be a responsible seller". | |
| "They need to provide time for investors to come forward to take a look at the business and for the government, new investors and the unions to work together to deliver a future for UK steel," he added. | |
| Mr Ball said his union already had a relationship with Mr Gupta because he owns a small steelworks in Newport where it has some members. | Mr Ball said his union already had a relationship with Mr Gupta because he owns a small steelworks in Newport where it has some members. |
| "We were impressed by the way that he invested in that plant down there. He has future plans to invest there. He looked after the workforce while he was getting the business back up and running so we've had a positive experience so far." | "We were impressed by the way that he invested in that plant down there. He has future plans to invest there. He looked after the workforce while he was getting the business back up and running so we've had a positive experience so far." |