The prospect of British Steel's closure looks a little less likely after the government stressed that help is on the way for the Scunthorpe plant.

Here's a quick look at where things stand at mid-morning:

• Beijing has warned the UK against "politicising" negotiations around the British Steel plant, saying the two sides "should negotiate and resolve the difficulties" on the basis of "mutual benefit"
• It comes after the government took over control of the Scunthorpe steelworks from Chinese firm Jingye - and accused them of behaving "irresponsibly"
• Without the vital supplies of coking coal and iron ore, the site's two blast furnaces will cool - and could be shut for good
• But a government minister tells the BBC this morning that those raw materials are "in the country" - and a union official says they will be unloaded in the next couple of days
• About 2,700 jobs are at risk at the site, but one worker tells the BBC today that he and his colleagues are feeling "a lot more optimistic"

Image source, Getty Images

We’ve been hearing this morning that the supplies required to keep the two furnaces at the Scunthorpe plant going - coking coal and iron ore - are already in the country as the race continues to keep the plant burning.

But the supply chain for those vital materials can be “erratic”, steel consultant Bill Penn tells BBC. For reference, coking coal can take 45 days to arrive once it's been ordered.

Penn warns that if those raw materials run out, it could force the plant to close.

When the furnace is turned off, the molten iron that remains inside solidifies, Penn tells BBC Radio 4 Today programme. When reheated, this “expands and cracks the furnace shell”.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds has so far refused to go into detail about the commercial arrangements of how the plant might continue to run following Parliament’s emergency vote over the weekend.

But, Penn suggests that procurement specialists will be some of the “first people inside the steelworks this morning”, and will be working to clarify what the long-term supplies for the plant are.

Lara King
Reporting from Scunthorpe

Andrew Jarman, who has just finished his shift at the blast furnaces, where he's worked since 2003, says he and his colleagues were feeling “a lot more optimistic”.

“Hopefully, it’s the right transition and thank you to the prime minister and the government for realising that we are a strategic site, for the whole of Britain, not just Scunthorpe, and hopefully we will start seeing a lot of change,” he says.

Jarman says that, as well as protecting jobs in Scunthorpe, the steelworks is vital in supporting other jobs across the country.

“We do produce good quality steel here,” he says, adding: “If you are buying British steel it should be made here.”

We're now getting reaction from the Chinese foreign ministry to the UK government taking control of British Steel.

As a reminder, the steel plant is still owned by Jingye, a Chinese company, but legislation passed over the weekend has given the UK government powers to effectively direct operations in Scunthorpe.

Reuters reports that Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Lin Jian is urging the UK to treat Chinese companies fairly and says the two sides should solve the issue through consultation.

Meanwhile, AFP reports that he is warning Britain to "avoid politicising trade cooperation or linking it to security issues".

Paul Murphy
Reporting from British Steel's Scunthorpe plant

As the morning sun rises from behind the dark silhouette of this giant industrial complex, workers queuing at the gates are in a bullish mood:

Andy winds down his window and says "they will probably get the coal here on time".

John, stepping off his bike: "I feel more positive. I think the press is getting carried away with this running-out of coal thing."

Rachael adds some caution to the optimism: "I don't want to feel relieved until it's all sorted. We've been let down before."

More now from Treasury minister James Murray, who has been speaking to BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

He repeatedly refuses to say whether the blast furnaces could close despite government intervention, but says the government is doing everything it can to prevent that.

"I'm confident in our actions, I'm confident we're doing everything we can to get the raw materials in there to keep the blast furnaces going," he says.

Asked if Chinese companies should not be allowed to get involved in some British industries, Murray says Jingye, the Chinese company which owns British Steel, has behaved "irresponsibly".

But he says that "one company doesn't speak to all companies who are based in China", and the UK needs to make clear it is "open" to investment from around the world.

There needs to be a "high level of scrutiny" when there is foreign involvement in critical infrastructure, he adds.

Image source, Getty Images

UK steel production has been falling for decades - long before Donald Trump entered the Oval Office for the first time in 2017.

But, tensions on the industry were heightened in March when the US imposed a 25% tariff on any steel it imports.

As a reminder, tariffs are taxes charged on goods bought from other countries. This means that companies in the US must now pay a 25% charge when they import steel - our colleagues have another live page running on today's tariff movements.

These charges partly contribute to the "highly challenging" market conditions cited by Jingye for why the plant was losing money.

Also to blame, according to the Chinese firm, were costs associated with transitioning to lower-carbon production techniques.

Meanwhile, a UK government briefing on the steel industry suggests that the global over-production of steel has pushed prices down, and says that British manufacturers also face higher costs, for instance on electricity, than elsewhere.

In March, British Steel said: "UK steelmakers like us pay up to 50% more for our power than our competitors in France and Germany."

Image source, PA Media

As we've just been hearing from government minister James Murray, the emergency legislation passed over the weekend was intended to save British Steel's Scunthorpe plant - let's look at the details of the bill.

It gives Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds powers to effectively direct the company - to keep staff employed, order new materials, and keep the blast furnaces running.

It also creates criminal penalties for executives if they refuse.

But Jingye, the Chinese company which has owned the steel plant since 2020, retains its ownership - the plant has not been nationalised.

While the government hopes to secure private investment, ministers say there are currently no companies willing to buy it.

And Reynolds has said public ownership is "the likely option".

Treasury minister James Murray says officials are "working as fast as they possibly can to get those raw materials into the blast furnaces".

"We know the coal is in the UK, we know the raw materials are in the country. We need to make sure we get it into the blast furnaces," he says, describing the work as "urgent".

Asked if he can guarantee the blast furnaces will stay open, he says: "I can guarantee we're doing everything we possibly can to make that happen."

Challenged over whether the government left its intervention too late, he says the government has been working with the company that owns the steel plant since the election, and says it made them a "very generous offer" in "recent weeks".

But in the last few days it became clear the company was accelerating its plans to close the blast furnaces, he says, claiming the company has behaved "irresponsibly".

Murray declined to give details on where and when the coal would be supplied from, but earlier we heard from the GMB union's Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, who told the BBC that the coking coal was at the Immingham Bulk Terminal and would be transported over the next couple of days.

Treasury Minister James Murray says the government is "serious about protecting the future of steelmaking in the UK".

Speaking to BBC Breakfast, he says that if the blast furnaces close down it's hard to get them up and running again, and that government officials have been on site since Saturday trying to make sure they get the raw materials "into the blast furnaces to keep them going".

This will protect UK steelmaking "by giving us options for the future", he says, adding the government wants to get a private sector partner for the operation.

If the blast furnaces had closed over the weekend they wouldn't have that option, he says.

British Steel’s blast furnaces are now “secure” following the government’s emergency meaures, a union boss says.

Speaking on the Today programme, general secretary of the Community Union Roy Rickhuss, says that the two blast furnaces will continue to run today despite concerns over raw material supply.

“That’s why the government stepped in”, he tells Nick Robinson, when asked if he is confident the steelworks will be fine.

Chinese firm Jingye had been reporting losses of £700,000 per day running the plant, but Rickhuss says that the business’s alternative plan - to import steel from China instead - was “totally unacceptable”.

"They had a plan and their plan was to close the blast furnaces," he explains. "That was unacceptable to us, we made that clear to the government."

Despite this, Rickhuss refuses to label Jingye’s actions as “sabotage”, but says that his union’s members were unanimous in wanting a change of ownership.

Image source, UK Parliament

• On Friday, the government made a highly unusual move - Parliament would sit at the weekend to rush through legislation to save the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, which employs 2,700 people
• The plant's Chinese owner, Jingye, said its blast furnaces were "no longer financially sustainable" with losses of around £700,000 a day
• Tensions were rising on Saturday, with the government saying the blast furnaces would cool down and become inoperable if the government didn't step in
• Police officers attended the plant in the morning, following what Humberside Police called a suspected breach of the peace, but officers said there were no arrests
• As parliamentarians debated the emergency bill in Westminster, crowds of steelworkers and other supporters marched in Scunthorpe
• In the Commons, the Conservatives accused Labour of making "a total pig’s breakfast of this whole arrangement"
• By around 17:30 UK time, the BBC reported government officials were close to the site, ready to take control once the bill became law - which happened around 18:00
• On Sunday, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds declined to say whether supplies could be secured in time to keep the furnaces running - but on Monday morning, union officials were more optimistic

As we've reported, the British Steel plant at Scunthorpe needs coking coal, so the furnaces don't cool down.

Now Charlotte Brumpton-Childs, from the GMB union, says she is "wholly reassured" that the coking coal will be "paid for and unloaded over the next couple of days" at the nearby Immingham Bulk Terminal, before being taken to Scunthorpe.

"I spoke to British Steel late yesterday evening and was wholly reassured, actually," she tells BBC Breakfast.

"I've [been] told that the coke that's at Immingham Bulk Terminal will be paid for and unloaded over the next couple of days and that government are working at pace to secure the rest of the raw materials that are currently on the ocean."

An emergency law was passed on Saturday giving the government control of British Steel's Scunthorpe plant.

So the threat of closure is gone away - for now - but the clock is still ticking.

Why? The key raw materials needed for steel production - coking coal and iron ore - are running low.

Without these materials, the temperature of the furnaces could drop too low, risking permanent damage and even total shutdown.

It's a costly and complex process to restart a blast furnace, and could be impossible, so time is of the essence.

On Sunday, the business secretary refused to confirm on whether the materials could be obtained in time.

Coking coal, which has to be imported, can take 45 days to arrive once it's been ordered. Iron ore tends to arrive more quickly.

Adam Goldsmith
Live reporter

Image source, Getty Images

After Parliament decided to save British Steel in an emergency vote this weekend, the race is now on to keep the Scunthorpe site’s blast furnaces burning.

The government says work is under way to obtain coking coal and iron ore for the plant’s two furnaces - which may sustain permanent damage if the temperature drops too low.

British Steel is owned by Chinese firm Jingye, which had stopped ordering the materials after suggesting the Lincolnshire plant was losing around £700,000 per day.

Reynolds assured the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg yesterday that “steelmaking has a future in the UK” - with at least 2,700 jobs on the line, we’ll get you up to speed on what that future might look like this morning.

In the meantime, our news explainer takes a look at how exactly British Steel got into trouble, and why the government has been forced to intervene in its future.