Business Secretary attends steel crisis talks in Brussels

The Business Secretary is to join ministers from around the world at a meeting to discuss a global glut of steel that has pushed British production to the brink of collapse.

Sajid Javid will hold talks in Brussels with counterparts from China and India and 27 other nations to "seek solutions to the overcapacity crisis".

Tata Steel, the Indian-owned conglomerate, announced in March that it was putting its UK assets up for sale after prices were hit by China "dumping" steel on the global market.

As a result thousands of jobs at sites including the Port Talbot plant in South Wales are in jeopardy, with thousands more in the supply chain at risk.

The Government has come under pressure to find a solution to the crisis and has been urged to consider part-nationalising the industry under a "co-investment" plan.

Ministers from the US, Germany and Japan are expected to attend the meeting, along with representatives from the European Union, World Trade Organisation, World Steel Association and the private sector.

On the agenda is how governments can "facilitate market-driven industry restructuring" and the summit aims to "agree on steps to reduce competition-distorting policies".

The meeting has been organised by the Belgian government and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Meanwhile steel consumption is expected to have declined in 2015.