Vital materials to save British Steel plant arrive after tense race against time

Vital raw materials to keep British Steel's Scunthorpe plant have arrived at the steelworks major boost for hundreds of workers.

Shipments of coking coal and iron ore were delivered following a tense race against time to save the historic site from closure. Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said he was "delighted" that the materials, which will keep the two furnaces burning for weeks, had been secured.

On Saturday the Government took control of British Steel with emergency legislation to wrestle control of the company from Chinese owner Jingye. The move saved 2,700 jobs at the plant and thousands more in the supply chain.

If the two furnaces in Scunthorpe were allowed to cool - as looked likely last week - the steelworks would have become unviable. Mr Reynolds, who was on hand as the coal and iron was taken off ships in Immingham, Lincolnshire, said there had been an "incredible cross-government effort" to save the plant.

Trade union Community said the Government's intervention had "headed off a profound threat to our country". Assistant general secretary Alasdair McDiarmid said it was a "huge relief" to see the shipments arrive.

He said: "Our members lost confidence in Jingye a long time ago, and recent events have proven the Chinese were never a fit and proper owner for a strategically critical business like British Steel. It beggars belief, but we now know Jingye were starving our furnaces of raw materials so they could end steelmaking at Scunthorpe and feed our rolling mills from their operations in China.

"Jingye's disgraceful actions, if they had succeeded, would have cost us thousands of quality jobs and severely compromised the UK's economic and national security."

Government officials are now working to secure the plant's long-term future. But Mr Reynolds warned there could be a "different employment footprint" in the future.

He 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."

British Steel said in a statement: "While this remains a challenging period for British Steel colleagues, we now have great hope. We'd like to thank the UK Government, our customers, suppliers and industry peers for their unflinching support."

Energy minister Sarah Jones said further shipments are coming from the US, from Australia and Sweden. Posting on X, Keir Starmer added: "My government has secured the raw materials to save British Steel. We acted to secure Britain's future.

"A Britain rebuilt with British steel, in the national interest. Helping to build the homes, railways, schools and hospitals we need to usher in a decade of national renewal."