The government has defended its negotiations with AstraZeneca, after the pharmaceutical giant ditched a planned £450m investment last week, blaming a shortfall in government funding. Science minister Sir Chris Bryant told Parliament that the government had made a “significant offer” of support to the firm, but doing more “simply didn’t add up for the taxpayer”. AstraZeneca’s decision had been “deeply disappointing”, Sir Chris said. The shadow science minister, Alan Mak, said the government had destroyed the deal, costing the UK jobs. Securing this deal was a big test of Labour’s economic credibility, and they have failed, said Mr Mak.
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