PARLIAMENT is being recalled tomorrow for an emergency Saturday session as the future of British Steel teeters on the brink.
MPs have had their Easter holidays cut short to be summoned back to Westminster for an urgent update on the industry.
It is possible British Steel will be nationalised to save it from collapsing entirely following crisis talks with ministers.
The last time Parliament sat on Saturday was in 2021 after the Taliban overthrew the Afghan government. It has only sat on a weekend 34 times since the war.
Last-ditch negotiations with British Steel's Chinese owners have seen the Government offer to buy emergency coal from abroad to keep Scunthorpe’s blast furnaces fired up.
But the move has sparked fury as it comes just months after bungling Energy Secretary Ed Miliband blocked a new UK coal mine – leaving Britain reliant on imported coal.
Tees Valley Mayor Lord Ben Houchen fumed: “The Government is now financially subsidising a Chinese-owned company by buying coal for them and importing it, all the while refusing to allow a new coal mine to be opened that would create British jobs.”;
Labour is facing mounting pressure from steel unions, senior Tories and Reform UK to nationalise British Steel.
Chinese firm Jingye, the owner of British Steel, has refused to foot the bill for coal imports itself after announcing plans to shut operations entirely.
The move risks nearly 3,000 British jobs and would make Britain the only G7 country unable to manufacture its own steel.
Worried steelworkers told Flying Eze that without a commitment for raw material supplies by Friday evening, the furnaces are set to shut down permanently.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds held emergency talks with British Steel bosses this week and pledged to “work at pace”; – while the Prime Minister said “all options are on the table”;, including nationalisation.
Sir Keir Starmer told ITV yesterday: “I've been to Scunthorpe to talk to the workforce there and the management there.
“I know just how much it means to them and obviously to the wider community and to the country in terms of the production of steel and that's why I've said all options are on the table.
“We're in those discussions but I have in my mind's eye the workforce and the production of steel in the United Kingdom as we make these decisions.”
The Government has now formally put the coal-buying offer in writing, but Jingye is yet to accept.
