It has been announced that the UK’s last remaining steel blast furnaces at Scunthorpe could be just days from closure following the withdrawal of crucial supplies. Chinese company, Jingye, had bought British Steel out of receivership in 2020, but has rejected a £500m offer of public money as talks with the government broke down.
The BBC reported that Jingye had cancelled two cargo shipments of coking coal for the site’s two blast furnaces and it has not yet paid for iron pellets that are scheduled to arrive next week. Without coal and iron ore, the blast furnaces will shut down within weeks.
Last week it was announced that British Steel launched a consultation on the planned closure and was working with the UK government to explore options for the future of the business. However, Jingye’s rejection means that as Britain contends with a trade war across the Atlantic, it is now working against the clock to secure the future of steelmaking at Scunthorpe.
British Steel has also been working closely with trade unions Community, GMB and Unite. The GMB’s national officer, Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, told the BBC that a union meeting with workers on Wednesday had shown that ”Jingye has no intention of running the plant responsibly. Nationalisation is now the only option to save UK steel making.”
The assistant general secretary of the union Community, Alasdair McDiarmid, added: “The situation is extremely concerning, and it would be an abject disaster if the business was allowed to close by default due to a lack of raw materials.
“We are now approaching a critical crossroads. If a deal can’t be reached with the company, the government must move swiftly to avert a disastrous cliff edge by nationalising the business.”
We will bring you more news on this story as it develops.
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