Tata Steel boss defends decision to cut thousands of jobs at Port Talbot

TV Narendran says shareholders in Indian-listed firm had grown weary of billions of pounds being spent on plant

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The boss of Tata Steel has defended his decision to make thousands of workers redundant at Port Talbot, denying an accusation that £500m in government support represented “the deal of the century” for the company.

TV Narendran, Tata Steel’s global chief executive, told MPs on Wednesday that the decision to close two blast furnaces at the south Wales site was driven by steep losses at the steelworks, which he said came to £160m in the last quarter.