Labour sticks to £3bn for steel despite green U-turn

Labour says it remains committed to a £3bn fund for the steel industry, despite ditching its flagship £28bn green investment pledge.

Announced in 2021, the green programme had been a key part of Labour's plans to reach climate targets.

Frontbencher Nia Griffith said the green steel fund pledge is "definitely being kept".

The party has promised the cash to find an alternative to Tata Steel's plans to close Port Talbot's blast furnaces.

Labour figures have appealed for the UK government and Tata Steel not to take irreversible decisions before a general election.

Tata's plan to install an electric arc furnace, supported by £500m from the Conservative UK government, will see 2,800 jobs axed.

Apart from the job losses, Labour is concerned at the loss of the ability to make steel from scratch at the site. The arc furnace will be fed by scrap metal.

The plan aims to help the industry move to greener forms of steel making and help protect jobs.

Tata has said it is open to further investment in the plant, but at the Senedd on Wednesday the boss of Tata Steel UK said there was "no way" the blast furnaces at Port Talbot could have been kept.

Shadow trade minister and Llanelli MP Nia Griffith said: "We know exactly where we're going on that [£3bn clean steel fund]. That is definitely being kept."

She added: "We've got a very clear commitment on that."

The £28bn green spending plan was to be spent on green energy projects, offshore wind farms and developing electric vehicles.

Sources earlier told the BBC that the whole plan was not being dropped altogether.