Parliament to be recalled to discuss British Steel

Parliament will be recalled tomorrow to discuss British Steel, as the future of the UK’s last virgin steel plant hangs in the balance.

The government has been urged to nationalise the business as union bosses have said the future of the Scunthorpe steelworks is “on a knife-edge”.

The Speaker of the House of Commons confirmed MPs will sit on Saturday from 11am to “take forward legislative proposals to ensure the continued operation of British Steel blast furnaces is safeguarded”.

MPs left Parliament to go back to their constituencies this week, as the House of Commons rose for Easter recess on Tuesday.

Recalling Parliament is rare, and was last done in 2021 over Afghanistan. There have only been 34 recalls since 1948.

The Chinese owner of British Steel, Jingye, claims the plant’s two blast furnaces are “no longer financially sustainable” and the raw materials needed to keep them operational are running out, prompting fears they could imminently be switched off.

It said the business is running at a loss of £700,000 a day maintaining the plant. Jingye had already rejected a £500 million state rescue package to help the business transition towards greener steel production.

The Scunthorpe steelworks employs 2,700 people.

ITV News understands many MPs are confused about the extent of the recall, and whether or not they will obliged to return. A number of Labour MPs are understood to be heading off on holiday, with some boarding flights as the recall announcement was made.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer had said on Thursday that “all options are on the table” for the plant.

“We’re in those discussions but I have in my mind’s eye the workforce and the production of steel in the United Kingdom as we make these decisions,” he said, speaking from Doncaster Sheffield Airport.

This is a developing story, more to follow…