An emergency bill to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces has become law.
The urgent legislation gives ministers the power to instruct British Steel to keep the plant open.
The bill was rushed through the House of Commons and House of Lords in one day, with MPs and peers being recalled from recess to take part in a Saturday sitting for the first time in over 40 years.
Emergency bill becomes law – follow the latest reaction here
After passing through both houses of parliament, the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill was granted royal assent by the King.
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The bill gives the government the power to take control of British Steel – or any other steel asset – “using force if necessary”, order materials for steelmaking and instruct that workers be paid. It also authorises a jail sentence of up to two years for anyone breaching this law.
It will mean the steel plant in Scunthorpe will continue to operate as the government decides on a long-term strategy, and steelmaking in the UK more broadly.
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Ministers took the unusual step of recalling parliament from its recess to sit on Saturday after negotiations with British Steel’s Chinese owners, Jingye, appeared to break down.
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Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the measures within the bill were “proportionate and necessary” to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces open and protect both the UK’s primary steelmaking capacity and the 3,500 jobs involved.
The emergency legislation stops short of full nationalisation of British Steel, but Mr Reynolds told MPs that public ownership remained the “likely option” for the future.
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During the debate, several Conservative MPs, Reform UK’s deputy leader Richard Tice and the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader Daisy Cooper all spoke in favour of nationalisation.
MPs had broken up for the Easter holidays on Tuesday and had not been due to return until Tuesday 22 April.
The business secretary accused Jingye of failing to negotiate “in good faith” after it decided to stop buying enough raw materials to keep the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe going.
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But the Conservatives said the government should have acted sooner, with shadow leader of the house Alex Burghart accusing ministers of making “a total pig’s breakfast” of the situation regarding British Steel.
The government was also criticised for acting to save the Scunthorpe plant but not taking the same action when the Tata Steel works in Port Talbot were threatened with closure.
