08 November 2023 , 13:56
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Furious MPs accused the Tories of jeopardising national security today over British Steel’s plans to axe blast furnaces.
Coal-fired furnaces are currently the only way of manufacturing “virgin steel”, which supporters say is vital to stop the UK relying on foreign imports. They fear countries exporting the product to Britain could slash or stop deliveries - particularly at times of war.
The row came after British Steel - owned by Chinese firm Jingye - unveiled plans to close its blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, Lincs, and switch to less-polluting electric arc furnaces. In September, Tata Steel announced plans to close its coal-fired blast furnaces at Port Talbot, South Wales and move to electric systems, which require less manpower and use recycled steel. Some 2,000 jobs are set to go at Scunthorpe and 3,000 at Port Talbot.
Worried MPs forced Business Minister Nusrat Ghani to the Commons for a grilling on the plans. At the Despatch Box, she faced a barrage of warnings British Steel’s plans - backed by £300million of taxpayers’ cash - would threaten the UK’s national security.
Scunthorpe’s Tory MP Holly Mumby-Croft, who is vice-chairwoman of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Steel, demanded: “Would the Government be comfortable with us being entirely dependent on foreign imports for the virgin steel we will continue to need in this country?" She added: "British Steel is a private company and they can make business decisions as they see fit, but I am clear - if they are seeking hundreds of millions of pounds of public money then the Government must leverage this money to protect steelworkers' jobs and maintain our sovereign capability to make steel in the UK. Electric arc furnaces melt scrap - to make virgin steel from scratch, we need blast furnaces.”
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Highlighting fears over national security, veteran Conservative backbencher Sir Edward Leigh said: “There is no other major, developed country in the world who is giving up their traditional blast furnaces - the only way you can make virgin steel.” British Steel’s announcement comes amid mounting fears for the UK’s £2.9bn industry, which directly employs 39,800 workers and supports another 50,000 in supply chains and local communities.
The Government insists it is committed to steelmaking - but it also has a legally–binding pledge to cut carbon emissions to net-zero by 2050. The steel industry is blamed for 14% of the UK’s industrial emissions and 2.7% of all Britain’s greenhouse gases.
Former Business Secretary Greg Clark said the UK would still need “primary steel” when the net-zero target is met. He urged the Government to ensure the UK maintains “the capability to make primary steel in this country to supply our needs in the future”. Labour ex-Cabinet Minister Liam Byrne, who chairs the Commons Business Select Committee, warned Ms Ghani she was “in peril of presiding over the end of primary steelmaking in this country - and the curtain falling on 300 years of Britain's industrial history”
Shadow Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said Labour supports the transition to green steel, adding: "We believe electric arc furnaces are part of the solution, but we do not believe they can be the only solution. Specifically, we believe the retention of primary - or virgin - steelmaking in the United Kingdom is a matter of economic necessity and of national security." He added: “Decarbonisation cannot mean deindustrialisation.”
Ms Ghani insisted: “I fundamentally believe that my personal opinion is that there's a strong place for virgin steel production in this country.” She added: “We have and continue to prioritise a UK steel sector. We know we need to provide it with support as it transitions because that is also a choice made by manufacturers, customers and consumers who are looking for greener steel as they go forward."
The Mirror has been campaigning to Save Our Steel since 2015.