Saving British Steel leaves taxpayers with £900m bill Industrials The government’s decision to take emergency control of British Steel is poised to cost the taxpayer just short of £1bn, according to initial government estimates, sparking warnings from opposition politicians that the Chancellor’s narrow fiscal headroom is in jeopardy. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) expects the public finances to suffer a £900m hit from [...]
British Steel secures £500m contract with Network Rail Transport and infrastructure British Steel has won a £500m contract with Network Rail in a deal that helps secure the future of its Scunthorpe steelworks. The agreement will see British Steel supply up to 80,000 tonnes of rail per year to the body which manages the UK’s railway infrastructure, around 80 per cent of the track it needs. [...]
Fuel for blast furnaces and iron ore supplies arrive at British Steel Business Steelworkers at Scunthorpe have been given a more certain future with the arrival of new raw materials to operate British Steel’s blast furnaces, ministers have announced. 55,000 tonnes of blast furnace coke have arrived in the UK to fuel the Scunthorpe plant in North Lincolnshire, and a shipment of more than 66,000 tonnes of iron ore pellets and 27,000 [...]
Why don’t we mutualise British Steel? April 17, 2025 It's not just nationalise or privatise, there is a third way for British Steel - and it's a win-win, writes Bartek Staniszewski.
British Steel: ‘Anti-China rhetoric’ criticised as ‘absurd’ by embassy April 16, 2025 China’s embassy in Britain has criticised the “arrogance, ignorance and twisted mindset” of UK politicians towards Chinese business, as it defended British Steel’s owner Jingye. It comes after Jonathan Reynolds said that the nationalisation of the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe is the “likely option at this stage”, while stressing the need to secure a [...]
Nationalising British Steel – again? Look where it got us the first time April 16, 2025 Nationalising British Steel is a story we already know the ending to. Repeating it is the definition of insanity, writes James Price.
British Steel: Reynolds would view Chinese firms in ‘different way’ April 15, 2025 Jonathan Reynolds has said he would “look at a Chinese firm in a different way” from those of other nations on involvement in the UK steel industry. But the business secretary has insisted the UK government took control of British Steel because of “one specific company”, and did not rule out Chinese firms being involved [...]
Grid connection for clean energy firms to be fast-tracked, ministers say April 15, 2025 Grid connections for businesses delivering clean energy are to be prioritised, ministers have said. The government has said so-called ‘zombie projects’ which hold up the queue for National Grid connectivity are set to be axed from the waiting list. While industries including data centres and AI, wind energy and solar projects will be accelerated for [...]
British Steel announces new interim leadership April 14, 2025 British Steel has announced the appointment of Allan Bell as interim chief executive after the government took over its Scunthorpe steelworks. Bell will take up the position with immediate effect, while Lisa Coulson has also been appointed chief commercial officer. Both are long-term employees of British Steel, with more than three decades of collective experience [...]
MPs approve bid to take control of Scunthorpe steelworks April 12, 2025 MPs have approved plans to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces after an extraordinary sitting of the Commons on Saturday. Emergency legislation giving the government the power to instruct British Steel to keep the plant open passed the Commons unopposed. It will now be debated by the Lords as the Government attempts to get the [...]
