Skip to main contentSkip to navigation Close dialogue1/1 Next image Previous image Toggle captionSkip to navigation Blast furnaces at British Steel's Scunthorpe plant. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/Reuters View image in fullscreen Blast furnaces at British Steel's Scunthorpe plant. Photograph: Dominic Lipinski/Reuters Full nationalisation of British Steel expected in king’s speechOfficials reportedly drafting legislation likely to safeguard Britain’s last blast furnaces and save thousands of jobs The full nationalisation of British Steel is expected to be announced in the king’s speech this week, a year after the government took over the daily running of the loss-making business from its Chinese owner.The steelmaker, which employs 3,500 people at its plant in Scunthorpe, came under government control last April amid fears that its owner, Jingye, was planning to shut down the site.British Steel operates the last two remaining blast furnaces in the UK, but its economic control remains with the Chinese company, which bought it out of insolvency in early 2020.An announcement confirming the plans is expected in the king’s speech on Wednesday, according to the Sunday Times, but details of the speech are still being finalised.British Steel was bought by the private equity group Greybull Capital in 2016, but it collapsed into insolvency three years later. It was bought by Jingye in March 2020.The Chinese company had planned initially to build an electric…
Published: May 10, 2026 5:05 pm
Source: The Guardian — Read original