The British government has launched urgent efforts to secure raw materials needed to keep the country’s last operational steelmaking blast furnaces running, following emergency legislation that enabled it to take control of British Steel. The intervention came after the company’s Chinese owner, Jingye, halted shipments of vital materials like coking coal and iron ore, threatening the closure of British Steel’s main plant in Scunthorpe, northern England.

Over the weekend, Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s Labour-led government stepped in to safeguard operations at the site, home to the UK’s final blast furnaces that produce steel from raw materials. On Monday, government minister James Murray confirmed that officials were present at the plant, working to ensure essential supplies arrive in time to keep the furnaces functioning.

“Our teams are on the ground to do everything possible to deliver the materials to the site and maintain furnace operations,” Murray said in an interview with Times Radio.

Support has also come from other steel-related businesses, including Tata Steel and Rainham Steel, which have offered assistance in sourcing the needed materials. Charlotte Brumpton-Childs of the GMB union expressed cautious optimism, stating she was "wholly reassured" that shipments of coking coal are expected to be paid for and offloaded at a nearby port within days.

She further noted that the government is urgently working to secure additional materials that are already enroute by sea.

Despite the action, both Murray and Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds admitted there’s no firm guarantee the twin blast furnaces can be kept operational. If shut down, blast furnaces are notoriously difficult to restart, and any interruption in supply could result in irreversible damage to the plant’s operations.

Reynolds warned that had the government not intervened, the UK could have lost its primary steel production capability altogether. He also acknowledged that allowing a key strategic industry to fall under foreign ownership may have been a strategic misstep. Jingye, which acquired British Steel in 2020, claims to have invested over £1.2 billion into the company but has recently been losing around £700,000 daily.

According to Reynolds, the firm rejected a government support offer of approximately £500 million, demanding more than double that amount with limited assurances regarding continued operations.

The government viewed the potential shutdown as a significant threat to national economic security, especially amid the broader decline of the UK’s steel sector and the looming loss of 2,700 jobs. While the recent intervention falls short of full nationalisation, officials have indicated that such a move is under consideration.

“We are actively seeking a private partner to co-invest,” Murray said, adding that nationalisation remains a "very likely option."