Rishi Sunak must save British Steel's last blast furnace or risk relying on ... trends now
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Rishi Sunak must step in to stop the closure of Britain’s last remaining blast furnace or risk the UK relying on hostile states for high-quality virgin steel, northern Tory MPs have warned.
British Steel’s Chinese owner Jingye is preparing to cut as many as 2,000 jobs at its Scunthorpe site as part of a switch to greener steel production, which would use electric arc furnaces instead of the current polluting blast furnaces.
The Government, which recently agreed a £500million support package for Tata Steel to fund a similar green transition at its Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales, has offered the Chinese firm £300million to do the same.
But last night the Northern Research Group of Conservative MPs warned that the deal will mean Britain is no longer able to produce ‘virgin steel’ - and would risk ‘becoming reliant on hostile foreign states’.
In a letter to the Prime Minister, Scunthorpe Tory MP Holly Mumby-Croft wrote: ‘Steelworkers understand that the steel industry must decarbonise.
British Steel’s Chinese owner Jingye is preparing to cut as many as 2,000 jobs at its Scunthorpe site (pictured) as part of a switch to greener steel production
The Government, which recently agreed a £500million support package for Tata Steel to fund a similar green transition at its Port Talbot steelworks in South Wales, has offered the Chinese firm £300million to do the same. Pictured: Rishi Sunak
