Date : April 12 .2025
The British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, has summoned the British Parliament to enact an emergency law to save the British steel company. He called for a rare session on Saturday in an attempt to prevent the Chinese-owned company "Jingye" from shutting down the blast furnaces at its Scunthorpe plant.
Starmer also postponed his family holiday celebrating Easter to attend the emergency session. The Prime Minister's office confirmed that he had planned to travel on a trip, expected to be to Southern Europe, but is now anticipated to leave on Sunday.
The Labour Prime Minister warned that closing the Scunthorpe plant would jeopardize the "economic and national security" of the United Kingdom, according to the British newspaper "The Independent."
This comes as MPs gather to support the government's plans to nationalize almost the entire British steel company after the Prime Minister cautioned that "the economic and national security of the country is at stake."
In dramatic moves in Parliament, emergency legislation is expected to be passed in a single day, necessary to allow the government to take control of the company.
Members of Parliament have been called to the House of Commons for a rare session on Saturday, amid government concerns that the future of the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe is "hanging in the balance."
This step enables the government to purchase the raw materials needed to keep the plant open and direct staff.
However, Conservatives have accused the government of creating a crisis of their own making, while the Reform Party has accused ministers of failing to take necessary action and called for immediate nationalization.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the House of Commons that the Chinese owners of British Steel attempted to "unilaterally" close the blast furnaces in Scunthorpe while MPs began discussing the plans.
He told them: "Doing nothing is not an option. We cannot, and will never, stand idly by while heat leaks from the remaining blast furnaces in the UK without any planning or legal actions or respect for the consequences. That is why I needed colleagues here today."