Race against time to keep blast furnaces burning in Britain

MINISTERS are facing a race against time to get sufficient raw material supplies to keep the blast furnaces at British Steel burning.

- By Michael Knowles

Emergency legislation was rushed through Parliament on Saturday in an effort to stop Britain's last primary steel-making facility from closing irrevocably.

But it was revealed Chinese owners Jingye wanted to keep control of four mills even though it planned to shut the Scunthorpe blast furnaces. One of the mills supplies Network Rail with 95% of its steel.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Jingye was determined to close the works, risking thousands of jobs, and stopped buying raw materials.

Asked if he could guarantee the furnaces would stay open, Mr Reynolds said he would not comment “on the commercial aspect of supply” but the takeover gave the “opportunity” to obtain the coal needed.

More than a dozen firms are understood to have offered to help British Steel secure raw materials for the Lincolnshore plant since the Government took control of the business.