British Steel latest updates: Parliament sits for emergency session as Starmer says ‘national security’ on the line

The situation in Scunthorpe is different from the steelworks in Port Talbot because there was a private company willing to invest in the latter, the industry minister has said.

As the government prepares for an emergency sitting to prevent the closure of steel plants in Scunthorpe, minister Sarah Jones has suggested the similar crisis in Wales differed as private companies were willing to invest.

Last year two blast furnaces in Port Talbot, in Wales, run by Tata Steel closed, resulting in the loss of more than 2,000 jobs.

Sarah Jones industry minister said: “When we came into government, there was a deal on the table with Tata Steel in Port Talbot.

“We negotiated in 10 weeks a much better deal, but there was a private company willing to invest, who are now investing.

“We have maintained 5,000 jobs on the site and there will be a future for that site with an electric arc furnace. There is no such deal on the table at the moment (for Scunthorpe), that’s what is different.

“The other difference is that these are the last blast furnaces making primary steel that we have in this country, and also what is different of course is that the world is changing.

“As we have seen with the Prime Minister’s support for our defence industry in recent times, we need to ensure as a country we have sovereign capability to make steel, and that is what we are securing today.”

There are currently no private companies willing to invest in British Steel, Sarah Jones industry minister has said.

However, the minister said there would be no additional costs for the tax payer beyond the £2.5 billion already budgeted for, should the government step in.

Asked whether the Government had received any private offers for the company’s Scunthorpe plant, Sarah Jones told BBC Breakfast: “There is not at the moment, to answer your question, a private company that is there willing to invest at this point.”

However, the industry minister said there would be “no extra costs” for the taxpayer as a result of taking control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe site, beyond the £2.5 billion already budgeted for supporting the industry.

She told Sky News if the owners of British Steel, Jingye, do not continue the government will “step in” and “seek to get that money back.”

She added: “But let me be really clear on the finances. We have a fund which we put into our manifesto because we have been committed to steel for the duration.”

She added: “We have the £2.5 billion fund for steel which we had in our manifesto, that we will use if necessary, so there will be no extra costs to the Exchequer that we don’t already have in our plans.”

Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, has said the government must nationalise British Steel.

Posting on the social media platform, X, the Reform UK leader said his party would table an amendment to “nationalise British Steel immediately.”

MPs face a choice between “taking back control” of BritishSteel or seeing the end of primary steelmaking in the UK, the industry minister said ahead of a debate on emergency legislation.

Both the Commons and the Lords will break from Easter recess for a highly unusual Saturday sitting to debate a Bill aimed at blocking the company’s Chinese owners, Jingye, from closing blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant.

Speaking to Sky News on Saturday morning, industry minister Sarah Jones suggested negotiations with Jingye on saving the plant had broken down, accusing the company of failing to act “in good faith”.

She said: “This problem has now become existential because the company have refused to bring in the raw materials that we need to keep the blast furnaces operating.

“If blast furnaces are closed in an unplanned way, they can never be reopened, the steel just solidifies in those furnaces and nothing can be done.

“So the choice that is facing MPs today is do we want to take back control, to give the Business Secretary the power to act as a company director and to instruct the company to ensure we get the raw materials and we keep the blast furnaces operating, or do we want to see the end of primary steel making in this country and the loss of jobs?”

Parliament will be recalled for a rare weekend sitting on Saturday, after Sir Keir Starmer unveiled an emergency plan to take control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant.

MPs will vote on emergency legislation aimed at blocking the firm’s Chinese owners, Jingye, from closing blast furnaces at the Lincolnshire site after the prime minister warned the future of the company “hangs in the balance”.

After crunch talks with Jingye, officials in the Department for Business and Trade believed its intention was to stop the supply of raw materials needed to keep the blast furnaces operating.

If the furnaces are stopped, it is extremely difficult and costly to them back online.