Labour keeps the home fires burning

Raw materials arrive to save British Steel and protect jobs Raw materials arrive to save British Steel and protect jobs

- DAVE BURKE & ASHLEY COWBURN

TRAINS carrying raw materials to keep British Steel alive arrived at the plant in Scunthorpe yesterday, offering a lifeline to thousands of workers.

There had been a tense race against time to keep the two furnaces burning at the site in Lincolnshire.

If they had been allowed to cool, as looked likely last week, the steelworks would have become unviable.

The Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds, who was on hand as the crucial delivery arrived, said there has been an "incredible cross-government effort" to save the plant.

The shipment of coking coal and iron ore from the US will keep the furnaces burning for weeks. It was taken to the plant after arriving at Immingham port about 20 miles away.

Labour said further shipments are coming from the US, Australia and Sweden.

Thanks to emergency legislation, the government took control of British Steel from Chinese owner Jingye on Saturday. The move saved the 2,700 jobs at the plant and thousands more in the supply chain.