PM 'horrified' at situation of steelworks

Sir Keir Starmer has said he is "horrified" that steelworks in Lanarkshire have been effectively mothballed, and is calling on John Swinney to step in to revive them.

- ROSS THOMSON

The Prime Minister said the SNP-run Scottish Government had failed to find work to keep the sites thriving after negotiating a “bad deal” which saw them being bought by a new owner.

The plants at Clydebridge and Dalzell in Motherwell were bought by the Liberty House group in 2016, backed by a £7 million loan from the Scottish Government.

The group, which is part of Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance, also owns the Lochaber aluminium smelter.

The Labour leader's comments come after the US trade deal which was reached on Thursday - which cut tariffs on cars, steel and aluminium.

Mr Swinney’s party said Sir Keir was attempting to “wash over” his own industrial failures.