Government has spent £274m to run British Steel since April

IT WORKS OUT TO £34M A MONTH ON AVERAGE SINCE STEPPING IN TO RESCUE SCUNTHORPE'S COKE BLAST FURNACES FROM CLOSURE

- By IVAN MORRIS POXTON Local Democracy Reporter

THE Government has spent an average of £34m a month running British Steel since taking effective control of it.

It also remains committed to continue covering its operational costs.

Parliament sat on a Saturday in mid-April to pass emergency legislation to enable the Government to intervene. It came amid reports owners Jingye were not paying for further raw materials for the company's coke blast furnaces at Scunthorpe.

Since mid-April, the Government has directed the running of British Steel. Recently submitted MP written questions have detailed the spend involved in rescuing the furnaces from closure.

It comes as British Steel currently recruits for a range of graduate roles, including in its IT, engineering, commercial, finance, operational and technical teams.

In recent weeks, deals have also been announced for the use of British Steel products on major projects in Turkey and Nigeria.

Andrew Griffith MP (Conservative - Arundel and South Downs) submitted this month several questions on spend on British Steel to the Department for Business and Trade.