UK Parliament recalled for emergency law to rescue British Steel

London: Both Houses of the UK Parliament have been recalled in a break from Easter recess on Saturday to vote on granting the government control of British Steel, as emergency legislation paving the way for the company’s nationalisation is debated.

The rare Saturday sitting has been called by Prime Minister Keir Starmer in an attempt to block the company’s Chinese owners, Jingye, from closing blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant in the Eastern Midlands region of England.

The state takeover plans would see British taxpayer funds being utilised to provide materials to the steelworks as a transfer of ownership is finalised.

“The future of British Steel hangs in the balance – jobs, investment, growth. Our economic and national security are all on the line,” said Starmer, ahead of the special session in the House of Commons.

“While it is true that we are facing a new era of global instability, our concerns about this plant and negotiations to protect it have been running for years. This moment could have happened at any time. But it has happened now and I will not stand by. There is no time to waste,” he said.

He said the emergency legislation will give the UK Business Secretary, Jonathan Reynolds, powers to do everything possible to stop the closure of the blast furnaces.

“We have worked tirelessly to find a way forward, making a generous offer of support to British Steel that included sensible, common sense conditions to protect the workforce, to protect taxpayers' money and create a commercially viable company for the future,” Reynolds told MPs, describing the state intervention as a “proportionate and necessary step”.

“Despite our offer to Jingye being substantial, they wanted much more. Frankly, an excessive amount. We did however remain committed to negotiation. But over the last few days it became clear that the intention of Jingye was to refuse to purchase sufficient raw material to keep the blast furnaces running, in fact, their intention was to cancel and refuse to pay for existing orders,” he revealed.

“The company would therefore have irrevocably and unilaterally closed down primary steel making at British Steel,” he said.

The Opposition Conservative Party blamed the Labour government of messing up the negotiations.

Speaking in the Commons, Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart said that the government has made a “total pig’s breakfast of this whole arrangement”.

Ministers hope to secure a private partner to open up co-investment options for a transition, while urgent temporary action is taken by the government to keep the plant running until longer-term plans are agreed.