David Cameron has warned that Britain must not “pull up the drawbridge” against foreign investors as Downing Street pushed back against pressure from the opposition Labour party to intervene in Pfizer’s proposed £63bn offer for AstraZeneca.
The prime minister said the UK benefited “massively” from its economic openness and insisted the government was making “very good progress” in seeking job assurances from Pfizer even without seeking new powers to formally intervene.
His comments on the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show came as Ian Read, chairman and CEO of the US drugmaker, prepared to fly to London today to be quizzed by lawmakers about his plans for what would be the biggest foreign takeover in UK history.