There were furious scenes in Parliament this morning as Tories accused Labour of “indefensible incompetence” for almost allowing British Steel to collapse. Shadow Business Secretary Andrew Griffith accused the Government of behaving like “sulky teenagers”. But Labour MPs attempted to hit back as they claimed the crisis was caused by leader of the opposition Kemi Badenoch, back when she was Business and Trade Secretary in the previous Conservative government. Ms Badenoch angrily accused Labour Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds of making untrue comments about her, and urged Speaker Lindsay Hoyle to intervene.
MPs have gathered in Parliament for an emergency Saturday sitting to pass laws giving the Government the power to seize control of British Steel and prevent the closure of blast furnaces in Scunthorpe. The dramatic meeting is the first time the Commons has sat on a Saturday since the Falklands War in 1982. Mr Griffith said steel workers had “toiled for generations” to ensure the UK had the steel it needs. But the Government had failed “and have only themselves to blame”, he said.
Mr Griffth told a packed House of Commons attended by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Chancellor Rachel Reeves: “This is a botched nationalisation plan revealing the Government has no plan.”
He said Scunthorpe was the victim of Labour’s “green” policies that had pushed up energy costs. He said: “Millions of other businesses are also struggling with their energy bills … steel may be the first domino to struggle.”
Parliament could have debated measures to protect the steel industry before now, he said.
Mr Griffth said: “It’s indefensible incompetence. Despite years to prepare, it’s clear they came into office with no plan.”
He insisted the Government “hasn’t really thought this through”.
Explaining why the steel industry is vital to the UK, Mr Reynolds said 400,000 tonnes of new steel were needed for Heathrow Airport’s expansion, and the planned Universal Studios theme park in Bedford will also use UK steel where possible.
Mr Reynolds said: “When it comes to steel, we will never accept the argument that steel making is a sunset industry. Steel is vital to every bit of the modern economy, domestic demand for steel is only set to go up, not down.”
The Business Secretary accused British Steel’s Chinese owners of attempting to “unilaterally” close down its Scunthorpe blast furnaces as MPs began debating emergency legislation to save the plant.
Mr Reynolds told MPs that developments over recent days had made Saturday’s extraordinary sitting of Parliament necessary as Jingye rejected the Government’s offer of support and took steps to end steel production at Scunthorpe.
He said: “Doing nothing is not an option.
“We could not, will not and never will stand idly by while heat seeps from the UK’s remaining blast furnaces without any planning, any due process or any respect for the consequences.
“And that is why I needed colleagues here today.”
MPs gathered in Westminster on Saturday after being unexpectedly recalled from recess to debate emergency legislation intended to save the Scunthorpe plant.
The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill gives the Government the power to instruct steel companies in England to keep facilities open, with criminal penalties for executives if they fail to comply.
Ministers said these measures were necessary to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces open and protect both the UK’s primary steelmaking capacity and the 3,500 jobs involved.
