Steelwork rescue sparks calls to save oil refinery

THE UK Government is facing furious demands to rescue Scotland's last oil refinery in the same way it has saved British Steel.

- BY JOHN FERGUSON

MPs last night voted through emergency measures to save Britain's last working blast furnaces - with the government seizing control of British Steel.

The intervention stops short of fully nationalising the firm - but allows the Government to step in and ensure the two blast furnaces at Scunthorpe steelworks do not "go cold", effectively scuppering them.

It could save 3500 jobs in Lincolnshire and prompted one of Labour's own MPs to question why his government has failed to step in with a similar scheme to save Scotland's last oil refinery at Grangemouth.