Prime Minister Keir Starmer told MPs on Monday that the government will take full ownership of British Steel, the United Kingdom’s sole crude‑steel producer in Scunthorpe. The move places the plant, which employs roughly 4,000 workers, under state control after a year‑long emergency intervention that averted a shutdown. By nationalising the mill, the administration hopes to preserve a strategic industrial capability.

Last April the government invoked emergency powers when Chinese owner Jingye announced it would stop feeding the blast furnaces, a step that would have cost the site £700,000 a day. Officials then injected over £400 million for raw materials and payroll, but a bid for a private partner to modernise the plant fell through. The state now must fund a multi‑billion‑pound shift to electric furnaces.

The plant supplies most of the rail stock used by Network Rail, so state ownership shields a key supply chain from import volatility and U.S. tariffs. Trade group UK Steel called the takeover a decisive step but warned that a clear investment plan for low‑carbon steelmaking is essential. With nationalisation, Britain regains control of its last crude‑steel mill for the first time since 1988.