Tata Steel suspends 10 staff as SFO probe opened

A CRIMINAL probe has been launched into activity at a business unit of Tata Steel, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has said.

It has been reported that two senior Tata Steel executives are among 10 people suspended by the beleaguered company over forgery allegations that have prompted the criminal investigation.

The SFO did not give details about the nature of the investigation which has been confirmed at a difficult time for the steel industry.

In a statement, the SFO said: “The Serious Fraud Office confirms it opened a criminal investigation in December 2015 into activity at Speciality Steels, a business unit of Tata Steel (UK) Ltd. We can make no further comment at this time.”

The news comes after Tata said it would sell all of its UK assets, sparking fears about jobs.

This comes on the same day as keys to steel mills at Dalzell and Clydebridge in Scotland were formally handed to new owners, heralding “a new era” for the factories which had been threatened with closure.

Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon hailed international metal firm Liberty House’s takeover from Tata Steel as a demonstration of the “art of the possible” at the handover ceremony in Motherwell.

The plants were secured last month in a “back to back” agreement, in which the Scottish Government bought the mills from Tata Steel before immediately selling them to Liberty House.

Ms Sturgeon urged the UK and Welsh governments to step up efforts to save the giant Port Talbot steel works in South Wales. Tata will begin the sale process for the site on Monday.