In the face of an escalating crisis, the UK Government is considering taking British Steel into public ownership, due to increasing concerns that the company’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces may run dry of raw materials imminently. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been in talks with workers at the Lincolnshire steel factory, assuring them that nationalisation is a viable option on the government’s agenda. Over the weekend, she communicated with trade unions, expressing her understanding of the steel industry’s significance to the UK’s strategic interests, particularly in light of US President Donald Trump’s 25% tariff on steel imports from America. British Steel has raised the alarm, declaring its Scunthorpe furnaces financially unviable, triggering fears of a potential loss of 2,700 jobs without government intervention. The company, under the ownership of Chinese firm Jingye since 2020, claims to have invested over £1.2bn into British Steel, despite incurring daily losses of around £700,000. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, during a Commons Liaison Committee interrogation on Tuesday, reiterated his commitment to the nation’s steel production and confirmed that ‘all options remain on the table’ regarding government support. Despite the government’s offer of £500m to assist in transitioning from blast to electric arc furnaces, this proposal was dismissed by the company. As negotiations reach a critical juncture this week amid fears of raw material shortages, there’s an increasing risk that the Scunthorpe site’s precarious situation could worsen.
This story was adapted by The Lincoln Post from original reporting by www.bbc.com.
