Rachel Flynn
Live reporter

Image source, Reuters

It's been a big weekend for British politics, and an even bigger one for Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

But this morning proved that the fight to save British Steel is far from over.

Yesterday, Reynolds recalled Parliament to pass an emergency law to prevent the Chinese owners of British Steel, Jingye, from shutting down its two blast furnaces - which would have ended primary steel production in the UK.

Today, the business secretary refused to answer key questions.

He couldn't confirm whether the government could keep the Scunthorpe furnaces running. He also couldn't put a number on the cost to the taxpayer if the plant was put under public control.

Here's what else we heard on today's show:

• Andrew Griffith, shadow business secretary, said letting the Chinese company take over British Steel was the only deal on the table
• Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, backed nationalisation as he challenged Jingye's daily losses figures
• GMB union chief Gary Smith said people in Scunthorpe were “legitimately” worried about sabotage from the plant's owners
• Russian Ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin didn't deny Russia was attempting to track British submarines. But he rejects the idea that doing so is a threat to the UK

We'll be closing this live page shortly, but for more, you can read political reporter Sam Francis's piece, external.

The page was edited by Rorey Bosotti and Neha Gohil. It was written by Asya Robbins, Jack Fenwick, Tinshui Yeung and myself.

Michael Race
Business and economics reporter

There's been a lot of talk about blast furnaces and how if they aren't kept running and go out, they can be very difficult and complex to restart.

But what are they?

The furnaces produce molten iron by splitting rocks containing iron ore. It is a chemical reaction that requires intense heat, and emits high levels of carbon into the atmosphere.

The process is known as virgin steelmaking, as it extracts iron from its original source and can be purified and treated to make all types of steel to be used in major construction projects like new buildings and railways.

The risk that the blast furnaces could go out and that the UK would no longer have the capability to produce virgin steel, is why the government has said it has now stepped in.

Image source, PA Media

The problems facing the UK steel industry have been rumbling on for a long time.

UK steel production has been falling for several decades and the financial pressures facing the industry were heightened in February when the US announced a 25% tariff on steel imports.

Global over-production of steel has also created "a glut of steel on the international market", according to a UK government briefing on the industry., external

This has pushed prices down. British manufacturers also face higher costs than elsewhere, particularly on electricity.

Some major questions on British Steel left unanswered - and many more to comepublished at 10:27 British Summer Time 13 April

10:27 BST 13 April

Jack Fenwick
Political reporter

There were two striking things from that interview with Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds.

Firstly, he couldn’t confirm that the government would be able to keep the blast furnaces at Scunthorpe running.

The urgent need for raw materials that feed those furnaces was the very reason the government chose to step in.

But Reynolds repeatedly refused to guarantee that the new coking coal would arrive in time.

He was also asked about the cost of nationalisation to the taxpayer.

While he was keen to stress that the market value of the company is effectively zero, there could clearly be some pretty hefty costs when it comes to running the plant.

The business secretary couldn’t put a number on those costs this morning.

That’s largely because - if nationalisation does happen - we don’t know how long it will be for.

Ministers clearly want to find a new business partner for British Steel in the private sector.

But as we’ve been reporting this morning, that won’t be easy - and until it happens, taxpayers may well have to foot the bill.

Expect ministers to be repeatedly questioned in the coming weeks about what exactly that means for the amounts of public cash involved

We've heard from Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith, and Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

Three different parties, three different views on the past, present and future of British Steel.

Let's get into it.

Reynolds (Labour):

• The business secretary refused to say if the Scunthorpe steel plant can keep running - even with yesterday's emergency law to help it do so
• He is also asked if the government can afford nationalisation and modernisation of the plant. Reynolds says if Germany and Holland can have successful steel industries, so can the UK

Griffith (Conservative):

• Asked if it was a mistake for the Conservatives to let Jingye take over British Steel, he says it was the only deal on the table at the time
• He says he supports the full nationalisation of British Steel

Farage (Reform):

• On British Steel, he says the Conservatives gave a strategic industry to a foreign actor
• He also claims that the Scunthorpe plant's Chinese owner Jingye inflated its losses and its figures can't be trusted. "Call it an intuition," he says as he's repeatedly challenged on providing evidence by Laura Kuenssberg
• Farage calls for the UK equivalent to the US Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

This week's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg has just finished.

But we’ll keep bringing you all the recaps and analysis – stay with us.

Russia's ambassador to the UK hasn't denied allegations that Russian sensors have been hidden in seas around Great Britain in an attempt to track UK nuclear submarines.

Andrei Kelin says that while he doesn't deny Russia was attempting to track British submarines, he rejects the idea that such activities presented a threat to the UK.

Asked whether he objected to the claims, Andrei Kelin says: "No."

"I am not going to deny it, but I wonder whether we really have an interest in following all the British submarine with very old outdated nuclear warheads... all these threats are extremely exaggerated," he adds.

• Read the full story from Laura Kuenssberg

Russia's ambassador to the UK says he doesn't think of the US as an ally.

"Your question is about whether this transition from total distrust to alignment is possible in two months, my answer will be no," he tells BBC's Laura Kuenssberg.

"We have too many disagreements, but we are working on these disagreements, step by step, in definite areas," Andrei Kelin adds.

On a ceasefire deal with Ukraine he says Russia is "not against it", but he caveats this saying it needs to be "carefully prepared".

He adds: "Otherwise if it will be broken a day after announcement the ceasefire will cease to exist and it will be extremely difficult to re-establish it."

He adds that "America is very well aware of our position. We do not want a ceasefire just to make a spectacular gesture, to show it publicly, or for the media, we need full-scale settlement once and forever.

"We are glad that Americans are listening to our reasons, concerns, root causes and all of that. We understand that they are now serious about our motives as well."

Kuenssberg asks whether Griffith would clamp down on other Chinese exports. He responds by saying the UK has to be more sensible about "long-term resilience and security".

Laura Kuenssberg asks Griffith if he would support full nationalisation. He gives a clear “yes”, saying we’re already there “in substance”.

“This business has been nationalised,” he says, although that would require the government to pass another bill.

“The government should have brought forward a bill yesterday that covered issues about ownership.”

Kuenssberg asks Griffith if it was a mistake for the Conservatives to let Jingye take over British Steel.

It was the only deal on the table, Griffith says, adding that British Steel also wanted the deal at the time.

He adds that it led to modernisation, investment, and continued operation for five years.

Pressed on comments from Conservative MP Iain Duncan Smith that it was a mistake to sell the company to China, Griffith says the world has changed since that time.

Laura Kuenssberg is now speaking to shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith.

She starts by quoting panellist Andy Street, asking if he agrees that the Conservatives should have nothing to do with Reform. Griffith says if people want well-run councils, they should vote Conservative, as they manage services better.

After being questioned on a potential peace deal between Russia and Ukraine, Farage is now asked how he would run local government ahead of the local elections.

Farage says he would cut back excess and increase productivity of staff - calling for a British equivalent of Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency.

He says the whole system needs a "fresh pair of eyes".

Kuenssberg repeatedly challenges Farage on his claim that the Chinese company is not telling the truth about figures in relation to the steel plant.

"Call it intuition if you like," Farage responds, when asked for his evidence on this.

Kuenssberg then asks Farage if he's accusing a "major private company" based on his intuition. He responds that there is "no such thing" as private companies in China.

The Conservatives gave a strategic industry to a foreign actor, Farage says - in reference to British Steel.

Kuenssberg asks how much it would cost to nationalise British Steel.

We don't know, Farage says, "because we can't trust Jingye's figures". He adds that the company "inflated" its losses.

Image source, PA Media

Now Kuenssberg is interviewing Reform UK leader Nigel Farage.

She begins by asking him about his support for the nationalisation of the Scunthorpe plant.

Farage talks about his background, saying he has 22 years of experience in the metal industry. He then criticises the previous government's energy policy, which he says led to the “most expensive electricity price in the world”.

He also says he expected the Labour government to act in the case of Port Talbot.

As a reminder, traditional steel production in Wales came to an end in September, with the loss of some 2,800 jobs at Tata Steel's Port Talbot plant.

Kuenssberg asks Reynolds about the UK's relationship with China.

Reynolds says disagreement with Jingye is about "specific actions of the company" and shouldn't be taken as a signifier of the wider relationship between the UK and China.

Earlier, Kuenssberg asked Reynolds if businesses should be concerned that the government can change the law in a single day - after emergency legislation was rushed through Parliament on Saturday.

Reynolds says they have done everything to reassure people. People don’t think I’m taking dictatorial powers, he adds.

Pressing on the costs of running and modernising the plant, Laura Kuenssberg says the public has been asking for answers.

Reynolds says British Steel had an annual net loss of £233m – he thinks that can be improved “but let’s take that figure right now”.

He says supporting British Steel in the long term will benefit the country, and if furnaces had been allowed to shut, the cost would have been higher – with job losses and other factors to deal with.

Kuenssberg asks Reynolds if he has done an assessment on how much nationalising British Steel would cost the taxpayer.

"The value of the company is zero... the need is for the taxpayer to stand behind the losses," Reynolds replies.

Kuenssberg then asks if the government has the money to modernise the plant if nationalised.

The business secretary says if Germany and Holland can have a steel industry, so can the UK.

Earlier, Kuenssberg asked Reynolds if he thinks there was sabotage on the Scunthorpe site. He responds saying he doesn't want to make an already dramatic situation more than it is.

Image source, PA Media

Laura Kuenssberg asks Reynolds again whether the furnaces can keep going. Reynolds says the government has taken action and the situation is "difficult and challenging".

"If we hadn't acted, you'd be asking how we support the thousands who've lost their jobs," Reynolds says.

Kuenssberg keeps the pressure on Reynolds, saying the problem now is that taxpayers can't be sure his plan will work.

She also says the union warned Reynolds two weeks ago that the government might not get any coal and questions whether he took action too late.

Reynolds disagrees, saying talks have been going on for months and the government has made a generous offer, but it was not accepted by the Chinese owner of the plant.

Laura Kuenssberg starts by asking Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds if he is sure he will get the coal needed for the Scunthorpe plant in time.

He responds by saying yesterday's emergency legislation will "enable us to do that".

If we hadn’t acted, the blast furnaces would have gone, he says, adding that his officials are now on site to take control.

Kuenssberg asks once again if he will get the supplies needed to keep the furnaces burning. Reynolds says he will not get into specifics and share commercial details.

• As a reminder: Supplies of raw material, which are needed to keep the blast furnaces going, are running low at the Scunthorpe site - once a blast furnace shuts down, it is a costly and complex process to restart