Tata expected to announce sale of South Yorkshire steel plants

Indian steel giant Tata is expected to confirm the future of parts of the steel industry in South Yorkshire as speculation mounts that the company is to announce the sale of part of its assets.

The firm looks set to confirm that it will sell its speciality steel business,which employs 2,000 workers in Rotherham and Stocksbridge and Hartlepool.

The move would increase uncertainty among workers in the rest of Tata'soperations, including the country's biggest steel plant at Port Talbot in SouthWales.

Tata has been assessing several bids for weeks after announcing earlier this year that it was selling its loss-making UK business.

Speculation has been growing that it will sell off its speciality steelbusiness but will continue to assess options for the rest of its plants.

The deal to sell the firm's Scunthorpe plant to investment firm Greybull Capital was confirmed at the beginning of June.

Business Secretary Sajid Javid will meet senior Tata board members in Mumbai today during a visit to India to discuss future trade links following the UK vote to leave the EU.

He said: "Following the referendum result, my absolute priority is making sure the UK has the tools it needs to continue to compete on the global stage.

"That is why I am in India today to launch these initial trade discussions.

"There is a strong bilateral trade relationship between our two countries andI am determined that we build on this.

"Over the coming months, I will be conducting similar meetings with other key trade partners, outlining the government's vision for what the UK's future trade relationship might look like."