AstraZeneca’s U-turn on £450m Speke expansion ‘deeply disappointing’, says minister

AstraZeneca shocked the Treasury on Friday when it said it had decided not to progress with the expansion at Speke, despite previously calling it ‘absolutely ready to go’. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters

The UK’s science minister, Chris Bryant, has described AstraZeneca’s decision to scrap plans for a £450m expansion of its vaccine plant in Merseyside as “deeply disappointing”.

The pharmaceutical company announced on Friday that it was axing the planned expansion of its factory in the Liverpool suburb of Speke, citing factors “including the timing and reduction of the final offer compared to the previous government’s proposal”.