Vital raw materials for Scunthorpe plant paid for - Rayner

A SUPPLY of raw materials needed in order to keep Scunthorpe’s steel plant operating has been paid for, Angela Rayner has said.

- PRESS ASSOCIATION REPORTERS

The Deputy Prime Minister insisted the North Lincolnshire site was “crucial” to the industry in the UK.

It comes after Downing Street said the UK Government was “confident” that it would be able to secure the products, such as coking coal and iron ore, necessary to keep the site running.

Meanwhile, a union boss has suggested he is confident the technical expertise among staff at the plant would mean it could be kept running, while officials and the firm look to secure more new raw materials.

Speaking to reporters in Scunthorpe yesterday, Ms Rayner said: “We've got the raw materials, they've been paid for, and we're confident that the furnaces will continue to fire.”

She would not say whether this meant that the materials would be delivered to the site yesterday, but said that “everything's in place”.

Ms Rayner’s visit to the site comes after the Prime Minister made a trip to Scunthorpe on Saturday, and told workers “you are the people who have kept this going”.

Sir Keir Starmer is now understood to be on a holiday with his family for the next few days.