'All options on table' to save British Steel plant

Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves are actively considering the nationalisation of British Steel in an escalation of plans revealed in the Guardian last year.

- Rowena Mason

The prime minister said all options were on the table to secure the future of the Scunthorpe plant, which is owned by the Chinese firm Jingye and employs about 3,500 people.

The possibility of nationalisation was revealed in December but discussions have taken on fresh urgency with US tariffs and talks about a financial support package to move to less polluting technology having faltered.

The government is considering options from nationalisation to buying materials to keep the blast furnaces going. If the plant is stopped, it could be even less economical to reopen, with only about 48 hours to purchase raw materials to keep it burning. The facility makes the steel for almost all UK rail tracks.

Whitehall sources said Starmer and Reeves were aligned in considering steel to be of "huge strategic importance" and "all options are on the table, including nationalisation". The chancellor spoke to union bosses involved in talks over the weekend and made clear her support for the steel industry.