Theresa May is facing a call to disclose exactly what and when she knew about Softbank’s £24bn acquisition of Arm Holdings

By:

Add as a preferred source on Google

Theresa May is facing a call to disclose exactly what she knew about Softbank's £24bn acquisition of Arm Holdings from the Cambridge MP whose constituency includes the UK headquarters of the tech giant.

The £24bn acquisition of Arm in July has been hailed by the government as an expression of confidence in the UK economy in the aftermath of the vote to quit the EU.

And in PMQs this week, Theresa May cited the deal in response to a suggestion from Jeremy Corbyn that the confidence of foreign investors is diminishing in the face of uncertainty over the UK's future.

However, Labour MP Daniel Zeichner has today issued an open letter to May, demanding details and dates of discussions between the government, Arm and Softbank prior to the deal being announced.

Read More: How six City analysts reacted to Arm's acquisition by Softbank

Speaking to Morning Wire Zeichner said he was particularly concerned over guarantees provided to the government on jobs remaining within Cambridge.

“Quite a lot of those guarantees may not be quit as cast-iron as we might hope,” he said.

“Far from it being something to trumpet, this could be a bit of a bargain, and certainly not the ringing endorsement that the government claim.”

A government spokesperson said: “We are aware of the letter and will respond in due course”