Keir Starmer says the future of British Steel "hangs in the balance" as he aims to pass an emergency law in one day to "take control" of the manufacturer's Scunthorpe plant.

The prime minister has recalled Parliament to sit on Saturday. Downing Street says legislation would allow ministers to "protect" the site, which employs 2,700 people - here's how it got to this stage.

Steve, who works at the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, tells the BBC the announcement is "brilliant news", adding it is a "relief for me and my family".

British Steel's Chinese owner Jingye says it has been losing around £700,000 a day, while Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says the government "had no choice but to act".

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says Starmer "should have seen this coming", as both the Lib Dems and Reform have supported nationalisation.

We'll continue to bring you the latest update, reaction and analysis - stick with us.

Reidsteel boss Simon Boyd said it was a mistake to sell British Steel to Jingye in the first place.

His firm, which employs 130 people, is a client of British Steel, and says the firm is of national importance and that it should be taken back in to public ownership.

He says the steel manufacturing industry in the UK supports 75,000 jobs and contributes £4bn to the UK economy.

“We need to get behind it,” he told BBC News.

Chris Mason
Political editor

The government will put The Steel Industry Special Measures Bill before MPs and members of the House of Lords, and change the law in a day.

The new law will transfer the power to direct and take control of British Steel to Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary.

This will mean the government can buy the necessary raw materials to keep the two blast furnaces at the plant in Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire going.

As we have reported in recent days, the Chinese owners of British Steel had made it clear they hadn’t ordered any more raw materials, and they were therefore at risk of running out.

What will happen in the coming days won’t amount to nationalisation, but the new law does give the power for that, if the company were to allow it when asked.

Were they to object, another new law would be needed.

Image source, PA Media

Conservative Party Leader Kemi Badenoch blames the Labour government for not securing a deal with British Steel's owners, Jingye, to prevent the Scunthorpe plant closing.

Badenoch says the government "let the unions dictate their action".

She adds that Labour "bungled the negotiations, insisting on a Scunthorpe-only deal that the company has deemed unviable".

Badenoch says she believs that Starmer, "should have seen this coming" and described his last-minute recall of parliament as "incompetent", adding that he was "scrambling for a solution".

We're now hearing from a family in Hull who are directly impacted by the future of the steel works.

Steve, who has worked at the Scunthorpe plant for six years, says it's "brilliant news" that the prime minister is considering nationalising British Steel.

"It's a relief for me and my family," he tells the BBC.

He says that nationalising the company would give the country "better security", and to lose the Scunthorpe plant would be a "massive, massive loss".

Asked what he would say to the MP's convening tomorrow, he he said "nationalise British Steel, and that's it".

His wife Adele adds that, for the first time in a long time, people in Hull will "get a good sleep tonight".

"Everyone that works (at the plant) knows that they've got the support - but there is still a long road ahead."

Although the UK has a rich history of making steel, it has been struggling for a while because of competition from China, which sells its steel more cheaply to the world.

In January, Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said steel communities had "had enough of lurching from crisis to crisis".

He was talking as the government launched a new Steel Council following thousands of job losses in the sector in 2024.

Despite plans to replace older blast furnaces with more modern electric arc furnaces in plants, such as Port Talbot, fears remain over thousands of job losses across the sector because the new furnaces require fewer workers to keep them going.

Electric arc furnaces also can't make high-grade virgin steel.

Clear frustration within government, as nationalisation looks increasingly likelypublished at 17:58 British Summer Time 11 April

17:58 BST 11 April

Chris Mason
Political editor

There is a clear frustration within government with how British Steel’s owners have behaved, but a recognition too that few businesses would be comfortable for long with the scale of losses they are enduring.

Ministers see a domestic steel industry as vital and note that the UK steel sector is already very small compared to similar economies, and so there is hope in time, if the economy improves, that demand for domestic steel and the viability of the domestic industry might improve.

Nationalisation does look increasingly likely and would have the by-product upside of removing the concern the current American government and its predecessors have had with a Chinese firm owning British Steel.

And while the current tussle over tariffs is not exactly helpful to the steel industry, the problems with British Steel pre-date the return of Donald Trump to the White House.

Image source, PA Media

The head of the trade union Unite welcomes Starmer's announcement, saying "it is absolutely the right thing to do to begin the process of nationalisation".

Sharon Graham says "ministers could not have allowed a foundation industry to go under with the loss of more than 3,000 jobs".

She adds that it gives "workers the reprieve we have been asking for", but "a longer-term plan is needed".

"It is essential that Scunthorpe receives the relevant infrastructure and kit to allow it to thrive as a modern steel producer long into the future," she says.

Labour's Liam Byrne, Chair of the Business and Trade Committee, tells BBC News that British Steel's Chinese owners have been running the company badly.

He claims the Chinese owner has been "stringing the government along" and "running the firm in to the ground", and that ministers had now lost patience.

The government didn’t want to be held over a barrel, he says, adding that is why they are seeking to buy some more time for the plant.

Image source, Reuters

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds says he is "deeply disappointed" that the government has been "forced" to implement measures on British Steel.

He adds that the government have "negotiated with British Steel’s owners in good faith ever since coming to office".

He accuses Chinese company Jingye, who bought British Steel in 2020, of "not being forthright throughout this process" which "left us no choice but to act".

“We will always do what is necessary to keep Britain secure at home and strong abroad. We are doing what previous governments have failed to, acting in the national interest to help secure UK steelmaking for the future."

Image source, Getty Images

Following Starmer's statement and recall of government, reaction from other politicians has poured in.

Reform UK's Deputy Leader Richard Tice says tomorrow's recall of Parliament is a "step in the right direction" but warned the plans "don't go far enough".

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey says his MPs will "work constructively with the government" over the future of British Steel. He adds nationalisation should not be off the table.

Green Party MP Ellie Chowns says her party supports “public ownership of key strategic industries when it’s in the national interest to do so." She adds there is a “strategic need" for the UK government to take an interventionist role to save British Steel.

When asked whether the nationalisation of British Steel is on the cards, Starmer reiterates that "all viable options" are on the table when it comes to the company's future.

He says that the recall of parliament on Saturday is about "taking control" of the Scunthorpe plant.

We can bring you more now from UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer who says he will "act to protect British jobs and British workers".

The future of British Steel "hangs in the balance" with economic and national security "on the line", he says.

He adds that the UK needs "more steel not less" and asserts that "there is no time to waste".

The government will do "everything possible" to stop the closure of the blast furnaces at the plant.

UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer says he will seek to pass a law in one day to give the government power to secure the future of steel-making at British Steel's Scunthorpe plant.

Image source, PA Media

As we've just reported in our previous post, Greenpeace campaigner Lily-Rose Ellis says the government "must learn from the mistakes made at Port Talbot". But what happened?

In September last year, steelworkers drilled the final hole in the last blast furnace in Port Talbot, bringing to an end the traditional method of steelmaking in south Wales.

The controversial move at the UK’s largest steelworks was part of a restructure that cut 2,800 jobs. The job cuts were announced in January last year, with some families having worked at the plant for generations.

Tata Steel UK has consistently said that its blast furnace operations were losing £1m a day, they have committed to replacing the old furnaces with a greener electric arc furnace, but it will not be fully ready until 2028.

Rajesh Nair, Tata Steel’s chief executive, said he was “deeply conscious” of how difficult the closure of the last blast furnace has been.

Adam Beechey, 33, who spent five years working at Tata said at the time: "It’s not nice. When I took this job it was a job for life in my head."

• For more on this story, the BBC has you covered.

Greenpeace UK climate campaigner Lily-Rose Ellis says the parliamentary recall is "a reassuring demonstration from the government that it is taking the issue seriously".

"The global race to a low-carbon economy is on, it's important the UK and Scunthorpe don't get left behind," she says.

She adds that "the government must learn from the mistakes made at Port Talbot, and the thousands of unnecessary steel worker job losses that came with it.

"We cannot afford to let that happen again, nor can it let steel production in the UK wither and die.

"MPs must vote in favour of nationalisation and seize the opportunity to revitalise the industry, making Britain a world leader in green steel manufacturing."

Image source, Reuters

This week, talks to keep production rolling at British Steel's plant in Scunthorpe have been taking place.

It follows the plant's Chinese owner, Jingye, saying its blast furnaces were "no longer financially sustainable".

Jingye says it has been suffering financial losses of around £700,000 a day.

The government is thought to have lost confidence in the company after a stand-off over who will pay for raw materials to keep the blast furnaces going.

Both the House of Commons and the House of Lords will debate an emergency law on Saturday.

The BBC understands that ministers are seeking immediate powers to control the site so it can ensure it has enough raw materials to keep going.

Roy Rickhuss CBE, general secretary of the UK's largest steel workers union Community, says "it is in the national interest that a solution is found to secure a future for British Steel".

He adds that in the absence of a deal with Jingye, it is "essential" to see urgent action to get British Steel in to public ownership.

Image source, PA Media

Following the announcement that Parliament will be recalled to debate emergency law to save British Steel's Scunthorpe plant, we've rounded up comments from leaders of other UK political parties.

Reform leader Nigel Farage says "we must save this vital strategic asset and nationalise British Steel". "The situation is desperate" in Scunthorpe, he writes in a post on X.

Green Party MP Ellie Chowns says nationalisation was "the only way" to secure the sector and "could also help drive the green industrial revolution".

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch, speaking before the announcement was made, said nationalisation of British Steel in Scunthorpe “has to be a last resort”.

Meanwhile, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey said "all options" should be looked at over the company's future. "Nationalisation should be on the table, but there all alternatives," he said.

Gareth Stace, director general of trade group UK Steel, says recalling parliament will give thousands of steel workers, their families and the wide steel sector "the certainty they deserve in trying times".

He says it is "welcome news that the government recognises the seriousness of the UK's steel industry circumstances".

Satce adds that the steel industry makes an "essential contribution to the national economy and security".

"We look forward to further detail from government on its commitment towards a secure and stable steel sector."