The UK is seriously considering nationalizing Jingye Group’s British Steel, as ministers rush to rescue the country’s last steelmaker from the prospect of permanent closure. Amid concerns the manufacturer’s main plant in Scunthorpe faces imminent closure, Britain’s Labour government is holding active discussions about taking it into public ownership, according to people familiar with the matter who spoke on condition of anonymity about plans that haven’t been finalized and may not materialize. Ministers will do whatever it takes to save British Steel from collapse, they said.
British Steel’s fate is a headache for Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who is trying to preserve a key industry just as Britain is stepping up defense spending and seeking to reduce the country’s reliance on other countries for critical resources. The matter is further complicated by British Steel having a Chinese owner which has already rejected a £500 million ($64o million) UK rescue package. The government remains in talks with Jingye to seek a way forward. The UK government declined to comment. A spokesperson for British Steel did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Calls to Jingye’s headquarters in China were not answered outside of office hours, and the company didn’t immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. “All options are on the table in relation to Scunthorpe,” Starmer said on Monday.
Jingye, which bought British Steel out of liquidation in 2020, has been in negotiations with the government since 2023 after it prepared to abandon plans to build two new electric arc furnaces while closing its existing two blast furnaces, the last remaining in the UK. Worries about the sector are being compounded by US President Donald Trump’s imposition of 25% tariffs on imports of foreign steel.
Trade unions have warned that Jingye has canceled orders for iron ore, coking coal and other raw materials needed to make steel, raising concerns the Scunthorpe plant could effectively close within days without the fuel to run it. If the raw materials aren’t ordered this week, the blast furnaces risk being permanently shuttered, according to one person working in the industry.
Ministers are now examining putting in the order for the raw materials themselves to buy Scunthorpe time, the people said, adding that the order could be made as soon as Wednesday. Nationalization looks like the only viable option if Britain wants to prevent itself from becoming the only Group of Seven economy without a virgin steel industry, the industry figure said.
The closure of British Steel’s UK operations would put thousands of jobs at risk in Scunthorpe and Teesside, both in northern England. The company employs around 3,500 people in total.