UK brings British Steel into full public ownership

The British government said on Thursday it had taken British Steel into full public ownership to protect steel production in the UK, after taking control from Chinese firm Jingye.

The company's plant in Scunthorpe, northern England, was described as the country's last factory able to make steel from scratch. It faced imminent closure last year after Jingye said the site was no longer financially viable. The government stepped in and took control of the company last April, and said in May this year that it would introduce legislation to nationalise it.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the decision secured the future of steelmaking in the UK, protected skilled jobs and safeguarded a national capability. The legislation became law on Wednesday.

The government had viewed the possible closure of the Scunthorpe site, which Jingye bought in 2020, as a risk to Britain's long-term economic security after the decline of the country's steel industry.

Business Minister Peter Kyle said British Steel had become vulnerable amid uncertainty over critical supplies. He said keeping the blast furnaces running was needed to protect production, supply chains and jobs. Kyle told Times Radio that without that production, Britain would be dependent on international markets and other countries for steel used in railways and construction. He said the government would work to make British Steel resilient in the future.

The move returns British Steel to government ownership for the first time since 1988. British Steel interim chief executive Allan Bell called the nationalisation a momentous day for the company and said it safeguarded its future while strengthening national security and infrastructure.

Union leaders welcomed the announcement and credited ministers with saving the UK steel industry. Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, national secretary of the GMB union, said work to keep the industry alive should begin with a commitment for public infrastructure projects to buy British steel.