Reinforced steel

Labour unveils £13.5m lifeline for workers hit by Port Talbot job cuts

- ASHLEY COWBURN

WORKERS and businesses hit by job cuts at Tata Steel were yesterday given a £13.5million lifeline.

Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said the cash will help retrain steelmakers at Port Talbot, where 2,800 jobs could go.

The money will also support South Wales businesses that rely on Tata as their main customer.

India-based Tata confirmed in January that it would close blast furnaces at Port Talbot as it moves to greener production.

But Ms Stevens said on a visit to the steelworks yesterday that the cash pledge is a "clear statement that, unlike the previous government, we won't wait until a crisis overtakes us before we act".