THE Government is “talking intensively” with Tata Steel during the sale of its UK assets – including its plants in Llanwern and Port Talbot – David Cameron has said.

Speaking during Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday, Wednesday, Mr Cameron said he recognised the timescale for the sale was short, but was committed to working with the firm throughout the process.

The British steel industry was thrown into crisis at the end of March when Tata Steel – which runs plants across the country, including in Llanwern and Port Talbot – announced it would sell off its entire UK operation in the face of continued losses.

Mr Cameron’s comments came after Aberavon MP Stephen Kinnock raised concerns about the timescale of the sale.

The Labour MP said: "Tata Steel has indicated that it wishes to complete the sale of its UK assets by the middle of June and that it wants a preferred bidder in place by the end of this month.

"Does the Prime Minister really think that that's a realistic time frame and that there'll be a credible process of due diligence?

“And what steps is the Prime Minister taking to ensure that Tata Steel delivers on its promise to be a responsible seller?"

Saying a number of buyers had expressed an interest in Tata’s assets, the Prime Minister replied: “We need to work intensively with Tata and with those buyers to get that list down to those who are really seriously intending to bid for the business.

“But he's right, it's a very short time table.

"He asks what we're doing.

“What we're doing is talking intensively with Tata to make sure they do everything they can to make sure this is a serious sales process."

Although Tata has not set a specific deadline for the sale of its UK holdings, it has made it clear the process must be completed as soon as possible.

The Prime Minister visited Tata’s Port Talbot plant last week – but did not tell First Minister Carwyn Jones he was coming.

Speaking to the Argus yesterday, Wednesday, Mr Jones said he believed there had been “possibly five or six” expressions of interest in the assets.