AstraZeneca offered 'significant' sum, says minister

The UK government has defended its position regarding AstraZeneca's cancellation of a planned £450 million investment. The company announced last week that it was abandoning the investment, citing insufficient government funding. Science Minister Sir Chris Bryant told Parliament that the government had offered the company "significant support," but further increases were "not value for taxpayers." Sir Bryant also stated that AstraZeneca's decision was "deeply disappointing."

Shadow Science Minister Alan Mark, however, argued that the government had undermined the deal, causing the UK to lose jobs. "Securing this deal was a major test of Labour's economic credibility, and they have failed," Mr. Mark said. AstraZeneca's announcement came two days after Chancellor Rachel Reeves outlined Labour's plans for "faster and deeper" economic growth. In her speech, Reeves had also listed AstraZeneca as one of the "great companies" investing in the UK.

The project was intended to expand the vaccine manufacturing plant in Speke, Merseyside. However, AstraZeneca stated that after "long-term" negotiations with the government, it decided not to proceed with the investment, though existing production and jobs would be maintained. The company indicated that factors contributing to the decision included "the timing of the final offer and its reduction compared to proposals from the previous government." The Science Minister stated that the company had decided to reduce its investment in research and development.

Sir Bryant told Parliament, "AstraZeneca had originally planned to invest £150 million in research and development, and they later decided to reduce that R&D investment to around £90 million. This was a decision they made based on their own investment decisions." The government then made AstraZeneca "an offer very close to the £90 million put forward by the previous Chancellor... but for whatever reason, that did not result in an agreement," he said. Previously, the former Conservative Chancellor Jeremy Hunt had proposed the expansion of AstraZeneca's Speke plant in the March budget last year.

However, reports suggest that the new Labour government's negotiations with the company regarding the plan had faced delays. Sir Bryant insisted that AstraZeneca had not lost confidence in the UK and was still investing over £2.5 billion annually in the British economy. "AstraZeneca is not leaving. People will not lose their jobs because of this... AstraZeneca still employs 10,000 people in the UK," he said.