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A fire has broken out at Tata Steel’s plant in south Wales, with the manufacturer saying it is too early to say whether the incident will affect its operations.

Emergency services attended the Port Talbot site at 8pm last night to deal with a fire at one of its processing lines, the company said in a statement. All staff were accounted for and evacuated to safety, it said.

“UK construction companies reported a steep downturn in business activity during May, with the speed of contraction accelerating to its fastest for six years. House building remained especially subdued, and there were fresh challenges in the construction sector from a considerable softening of commercial activity since April.

“Anecdotal evidence suggested that economic uncertainty and rising inflation in the wake of the Middle East conflict had triggered the steepest drop in new work since the beginning of the pandemic. Elevated borrowing costs were also reported to have impacted market conditions.