‘Likely’ British Steel will be nationalised, says business secretary Jonathan Reynolds | Politics News

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said it is “likely” that British steel will be nationalized.

This comes after he equaled his claim that he would not bring a Chinese company into the steel sector again after the government had to do Urgent step in to save the British steel plant in scunthorpe.

Mr. Reynolds said with reporters in the city of Lincolnshire that nationalization is the ‘likely option at this stage’.

He added: “What we are going to do now, after both of which have ensured control of the terrain and the supply of raw materials, so that the ovens will not close within a few days, this is the future.

‘We have the ownership question, which is urgent.

“I was clear when I delivered the speech in parliament – we know that there is a limited life of the ovens, and we know that what we need for the future is a private sector partner to work with us to the transformation and fellow fund that has the transformation.”

Reynolds rows back

Mr. Reynolds said he would look at the Chinese firms ‘in another way’ to the race to save British steelbut did not exclude their involvement completely.

The remarks were contrary to his previous remarks to Sky News’ Sunday morning with Trevor Phillips, When he said that he would not bring “a Chinese company personally into our steel sector”, which describes steel as a “sensitive area” in the UK.

The government took over British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant, the last in the United Kingdom that Virgin Steel was able to produce Virgin Steel, after talks with its Chinese owners, Jingye, broke.

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The company recently canceled orders for the provision of the raw materials needed to keep the ovens going, which caused a race to keep it in operation by the time.

Materials assured by the government arrived on the site on Tuesday, but questions remain over the long-term future of British stealing and whether it will be fully nationalized or the private sector will be involved.

Earlier Tuesday, Industry Minister Sarah Jones said she was “not excluded” the possibility of another Chinese partner.

She said that a pragmatic relationship with Beijing, the world’s second largest economy, is still important and that strict tests would apply to a Chinese company like any other business’.

Asked for the clarity on his position during a visit to the port of Immingham, where materials were dropped off from two ships and transported to the plant. Reynolds said: ‘I think we need to realize that steel is a sensitive sector.

‘Many of the problems in the global economy with steel come from the production and dumping of steel products … so I think you will look at a Chinese firm in a different way.

“But I am very eager to emphasize that the action we did here was to step in, because it was a specific company I thought I was not acting in the national interest of the UK, and we had to take the action we did.”

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The materials that arrived on Tuesday, including coal and iron, are enough to keep the ovens running for weeks, the Department of Affairs and Trade said.

This is necessary, because if the ovens cool too much, the melted iron strengthens the ovens, making it extremely difficult and expensive to restart it.

‘Chinese ownership truly terribly’

Opposition -politicians have accused China of having sabotage to increase the dependence on its steel products, and wants the country to be prevented from preventing not only with steel, but also with the British national infrastructure.

Veteran Tory MP Sir Iain Duncan Smith said the government should define which industries are ‘strategic’ – and prevent China from being allowed to invest in such sectors.

Liberal Democrats spokesman Calum Miller said the return to Chinese ownership would be like finding that your home had been charged and then unlocked your doors.

The Reformation of British leader Nigel Farage took the same position and said the idea that the government could “even consider another Chinese owner of British Steel is truly horrible”, and that he would not have China “in our nuclear program, everywhere near our telecommunications or something else”.

“They’re not our friends,” he added.

Number 10 said on Monday that he was not aware of any “sabotage” at the plant and that there was no block on Chinese businesses.

The Chinese embassy urged the British government not to “politicize” the situation by “linking it to safety issues”, saying that it is “an objective fact that British steel companies have generally experienced problems over the past few years”.

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Jingye reported losses of approximately £ 700,000 a day at Scundrorpe, which will now cost the taxpayer against the emergency legislation on Saturday, the government has taken it over.

Ms Jones said during Tuesday morning’s maintenance round that the government offered Jingye money in exchange for investment and “we think there is a model that can repeat us with another private sector”.

But she said there was “currently not another private sector waiting in the wings, and that it could be a ‘national solution’ needed.

She said that “all the options were” expensive, but that it would cost more for the taxpayer to close the site.

A Yougov poll shows that the majority of the public (61%) supports the government’s decision to nationalize British steel.