LET DOWN BY FATCATS AND POLITICIANS

Unions' fury as Manchester United tycoon confirms 100-year-old refinery is history

- CHRIS MCCALL

400 JOBS GO AT GRANGEMOUTH

BILLIONAIRE tycoon Jim Ratcliffe has been blasted for spending millions on Manchester United while 400 workers at Scotland's last remaining oil refinery face redundancy.

A century of refining will come to an end at Grangemouth in spring next year after owners Petroineos confirmed yesterday that the site would be converted to become a fuel import and export depot.

The joint venture between Ratcliffe's firm Ineos and the Chinese government blamed falling demand for its products and rising costs for the decision to pull the plug.

More than 400 jobs will be lost at Grangemouth over two years as the refinery winds down and work begins to convert the site to an import hub.

Ineos will continue to operate the separate petrochemical plant at the gigantic industrial site on the banks of the Forth.

Ratcliffe founded the company in 1998 and took control of the Grangemouth refinery from BP in 2005.