ROME: ArcelorMittal said Monday it was pulling out of the purchase of Italy’s struggling steel firm Ilva after parliament scrapped a legal protection deemed necessary to undertake crucial environmental work without criminal liability.

The Taranto site is at the centre of a huge legal case in which experts cited by prosecutors have said some 7,500 people were killed in the area over seven years by diseases linked to toxic emissions.

The decision by ArcelorMittal sparked outrage across Italy, with trade unions variously blaming the steel giant and the ruling anti-establishment Five Star Movement (M5S), which is a foe of big industry, for pulling the rug out from under the deal which would have safeguarded thousands of jobs. “We’re facing a real industrial, social and environmental disaster,” said trade union CISL head Annamaria Furlan.—AFP