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Business secretary told Sky News he would not bring a Chinese company into the ‘sensitive’ steel sector again – after the government was forced to take control of British Steel.
Urgent legislation rushed through the House of Commons and House of Lords on Saturday, the ministers gave the power to teach British steel owned by Chinese company Jingye to keep the plant open.
The Steel Industry Bill (Special Measures) Bill essentially enables the government to take control of British Steel “use power if necessary”, order material for steel manufacturing and instructed workers to be paid. It also authorizes a prison sentence of up to two years for anyone who violates this law.
Emergency Bill becomes law – follow the latest response here
British Steel’s scunthorpe plant. Photo: Reuters
Said Jonathan Reynolds Sunday morning with Trevor Phillips That he would not bring a Chinese business into our steel sector again, and described stealing as a ‘sensitive area’ in the UK.
The business secretary has agreed that there is now a high trust bar for Chinese businesses to be involved in the British economy.
He said: “I think steel is a very sensitive area. I don’t know … The Boris Johnson government when they did, what exactly the situation was. But I think it’s a sensitive area.”
Jingye came in 2020, when Mr. Johnson Prime Minister was arrived in the British steel scunthorpe plant to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant.
But the company has recently canceled orders for the stock of raw materials needed to run ovens on site – the last in the UK to produce Virgin Steel.
This has raised the future of the steel industry, and eventually led to MPs and peers being called back from the parliamentary recess to participate in a rare Saturday when negotiations with Jingye looked.
A necessity design to save the plant became law later that day.
Public ownership currently ‘likely option’
It does not stop the full nationalization of British stealing, but Reynolds told Sky News that public ownership remains the ‘likely option’ for the future.
He said, “Well, it remains an option. And to be honest, as I said to Parliament yesterday, it may be the probable option at this point.”
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However, the minister said he believed that there was “potential” for a commercial partner in the private sector.
He said: “This is my preference, but I feel that we should find a bridge. The kind of investments needed for the transition to new steel technology, whatever technology, it is a lot of money, a lot of capital.”
Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith said the government’s emergency bill amounts to a ‘bottled nationalization’.
He told Sky News that the conservatives supported the ‘least worst’ option in the Commons on Saturday.
“There is clearly more work to do, because the taxpayer is now picking up the accounts for a business that is still owned by his Chinese owner,” the Tory Frontbencher said.
“I hope the government will come back very quickly and clear the situation.”
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