Government Secures Lifeline for Scunthorpe Steel
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he is "delighted" that the raw materials have been secured to keep the British Steel plant running in Scunthorpe
Last updated 15th Apr 2025
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds confirmed the government has secured raw materials to keep British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces operational, avoiding a sudden shutdown and thousands of job losses.
Speaking from Immingham Port, Reynolds praised the “cross-government effort” and said the move offers “better value for the taxpayer” than allowing the plant to fail.
Reynolds admitted the long-term future may involve a “different employment footprint,” with plans for transformation including new technologies and facilities. He emphasized the need for a private sector partner to help reshape the site.
Speaking in Immingham, Mr Reynolds said: "What we need for the long-term future of British Steel is that private sector partner to work with us as a Government on a transformation programme.
"That might be new technology, new facilities, that might have a different employment footprint. The staff here absolutely know that, they know they need a long-term future.
"These blast furnaces have given this country nearly a century of service in one case, so they know they need the future and that might be a different model, different technology. What they didn't want was the unplanned, uncontrolled shutdown of the blast furnaces with thousands of job losses and no plan in place for the future.
"And by what we've been able to do, working with the brilliant team here at British Steel, is secure the possibility of that better future - and I for one am confident that we've made the right decision to support the people here."
Tensions have grown over former owner Jingye, a Chinese company, which unions and politicians have accused of deliberately running down operations. GMB’s Charlotte Brumpton-Childs called their actions “immoral,” while Reform UK’s Nigel Farage claimed Jingye intended to shut British Steel entirely.
Community union leader Roy Rickhuss, however, blamed mismanagement over sabotage.
Jonathan Reynolds suggested he would "look at a Chinese firm in a different way" from those based in other nations when it comes to involvement in the UK steel sector but added the Government took control of British Steel was because of "one specific company."
The Business Secretary said: "In this case, our difference of opinion on the future was with a specific company.
"I know there's a lot of interest in the wider UK-China relationship, understandably so but this was about this company.
"I think we've got to recognise that steel is a sensitive sector. It's a sensitive sector around the world, and a lot of the issues in the global economy with steel come from over-production and dumping of steel products, and that does come from China.
"So I think you would look at a Chinese firm in a different way but I'm really keen to stress the action we've taken here was to step in, because it was one specific company that I thought wasn't acting in the UK's national interest, and we had to take the action we did."
Business Minister Sarah Jones stressed that national security tests would be applied to any future investors, including Chinese firms. She emphasized the government's preference for private investment and reiterated a £2.5 billion steel support fund.
The immediate priority, according to union leaders, is to withdraw redundancy threats and maintain blast furnace operations, while exploring clean alternatives like electric arc and hydrogen DRI technology.