Calls for ‘immediate’ nationalisation of British Steel as furnace is ‘winding down’
The leader of the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce has called for the ‘immediate’ nationalisation of the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe after its sources revealed the winding down of its furnaces has already begun.
Dr Ian Kelly, chief executive of the chamber, said nationalisation is essential to protect the blast furnaces and keep thousands of local jobs, both at the plant and in the wider supply chain.
He said that the chamber’s sources indicate that a ‘salamander tap operation’ is underway which means that one of the two blast furnaces in Scunthorpe is subject to a complex engineering process which involves winding down the furnace for maintenance.
While the furnace could begin operating again if the operation was done correctly, there are fears that the Chinese owners, Jingye, will not restart it.
He said: “The chamber wants to see Jingye continue to run the business as a going concern, but it has already been announced that it is no longer ordering the raw materials required to make virgin steel, and thousands of employees are in a consultation process about their futures”.
The Scunthorpe blast furnaces are the last ones in the country after the Tata Steel owned site at Port Talbot was closed. The UK’s ability to make virgin steel is of vital national importance and is seen by business leaders as pivotal for the country’s future defence and security, especially with the current turmoil in the geo-political world.
There are also the concerns around the effect of President Trump’s tariffs.
If the two British Steel furnaces are closed, the UK would be the only non-steelmaking country in the G7.
Dr Kelly said: “The Prime Minister said in the commons liaison committee on Tuesday that ‘all options remain on the table’, however given that the Chinese owners have cancelled the next batch of raw materials, it is essential the government acts now!”
He added that the plant’s high-quality steel is used to provide Network Rail with 95% of its rail track in the UK, and the wider Scunthorpe business community which will be devastated if the plant was to close.
