British Steel’s fate is a headache for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is trying to preserve a key industry just as Britain is stepping up defence spending and seeking to reduce the country’s reliance on other countries for critical resources. The matter is further complicated by British Steel having a Chinese owner which has already rejected a GBP500 million UK rescue package. The government remains in talks with Jingye to seek a way forward.
“All options are on the table” to secure the future of the Scunthorpe plant, Starmer told a parliamentary committee on Tuesday. The premier said that he didn’t want to comment on specific policies he was considering while the talks are “ongoing.”
Still, he indicated he was prepared to intervene if necessary, telling lawmakers he was “absolutely committed to steel production” in the UK.
A spokesperson for British Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Calls to Jingye’s headquarters in China were not answered outside of office hours, and the company didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.
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Jingye, which bought British Steel out of liquidation in 2020, has been in negotiations with the government since 2023 after it prepared to abandon plans to build two new electric arc furnaces while closing its existing two blast furnaces, the last remaining in the UK. Worries about the sector are being compounded by US President Donald Trump’s imposition of 25% tariffs on imports of foreign steel.
It is disappointing the US has imposed global tariffs on steel and aluminium.
Trade unions have warned that Jingye has canceled orders for iron ore, coking coal and other raw materials needed to make steel, raising concerns the Scunthorpe plant could effectively close within days without the fuel to run it.
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If the raw materials aren’t ordered this week, the blast furnaces risk being permanently shuttered, according to one person working in the industry.
Ministers are now examining putting in the order for the raw materials themselves to buy Scunthorpe time, the people said, adding that the order could be made as soon as Wednesday. Nationalisation looks like the only viable option if Britain wants to prevent itself from becoming the only Group of Seven economy without a virgin steel industry, the industry figure said.
The closure of British Steel’s UK operations would put thousands of jobs at risk in Scunthorpe and Teesside, both in northern England. The company employs around 3,500 people in total.
