Race against time to keep British Steel furnaces burning as materials set to arrive at Scunthorpe plant
15 April 2025, 06:39 | Updated: 15 April 2025, 08:52
Raw materials secured by the Government will be transported to British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant on Tuesday to keep its blast furnaces burning.
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The Government has taken control of British Steel and are facing a race against time to get material such as coking coal and iron ore to the site.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds will visit the port in Immingham, North Lincolnshire, as supplies from two ships are unloaded and transported to the plant.
The materials, sent from the US, are enough to keep the furnaces running for weeks, the Department for Business and Trade said, adding that they have been paid for out of its existing budget.
It comes after Downing Street said the Government was “confident” it would be able to secure the products necessary to keep the site running, and that work was ongoing to get a “steady pipeline” of materials.
A third ship with coking coal and iron ore is on its way to the UK from Australia after a legal dispute between British Steel and Chinese owner Jingye was resolved.
Mr Reynolds said: "We will always act in the interest of working people and UK industry.
"Thanks to the work of those at British Steel, and in my department, we have moved decisively to secure the raw materials we need to help save British Steel.
"Our industries depend on UK steel and – thanks to our Plan for Change – demand is set to shoot up: helping build the 1.5 million homes, railways, schools and hospitals we need to usher in a decade of national renewal."
After an emergency law was rushed through Parliament on Saturday, giving the government control of the Lincolnshire site, the Chinese embassy urged the UK to "act with fairness".
The former owner, a company called Jingye, has been accused of "working against the business" and cancelling the shipment of vital materials for the site - sparking a race to secure them.
The Prime Minister's official spokesman previously said: "We are now confident in securing the supply of materials needed.
"Obviously we will be working with the management to identify further raw materials needed to keep a steady pipeline, and to keep the furnaces burning.
"I'm not going to get ahead of what comes next, but we'll obviously now work on the issues of ownership."
