"Sir Keir Starmer said legislation would be brought forward this week to give the government powers to take "full ownership of British Steel", subject to a public interest test. The move comes after the government seized control of British Steel's Scunthorpe steelworks from its Chinese owners Jingye in April last year in order to halt the potential closure of its blast furnances. Sir Keir said the government had held talks with Jinqye, but that a "commercial sale has not been possible, and now a public test could be met"."
""Public ownership is in the public interest", the prime minister said in a speech. The steelmaking industry welcomed the announcement. Gareth Stace, director-general of industry body UK Steel, said it provided "vital certainty" for the 2,700 workforce and the company's customers. "Maintaining domestic production capability for British Steel's products is essential not only for economic growth but also for our national security and resilience," he said."
"However, Stace said nationalisation was "not an end goal", and the process must be the "beginning of a clear and credible long-term plan for British Steel" along with an investment strategy. Until now, the government had stopped short of taking British Steel back into full public ownership as it looked for potential private investors for the plant. It seized control of the steelworks in April last year after talks with owners Jinqye collapsed amid accusations the Chinese firm was planning to switch the furnaces off."
"If the furnaces had been starved of fuel and gone out, the UK would no longer have had the capability to produce so-called virgin steel, due to the process of restarting them being extremely difficult and costly."
The prime minister announced plans to bring British Steel into public ownership. Legislation would be introduced this week to give the government powers to take full ownership, subject to a public interest test. The decision follows government seizure of control of the Scunthorpe steelworks from Chinese owners Jingye in April of the previous year to prevent potential closure of blast furnaces. The government said talks with the owners did not lead to a commercial sale, and a public interest test could now be met. The steelmaking industry welcomed the move, citing the need for domestic production capability for economic growth, national security, and resilience. Industry leaders also said nationalisation should be the start of a long-term plan and investment strategy rather than an end goal.
Read at www.bbc.com
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