British Steel taken into public ownership to protect 'vital' UK supply

British Steel has been taken into public ownership in a move the government said would protect jobs and safeguard "a vital national capability". The future of the steelworks, which employs roughly 2,700 people in Scunthorpe and supports many other industries in north Lincolnshire, has been dogged by uncertainty over recent years. The UK government had taken control of British Steel's operations in Scunthorpe last year, though it was still owned by China's Jingye Group, limiting the government's ability to decide on its future strategy. Nationalisation buys the government time and gives it the power and freedom to decide on the future of the plant, while keeping the blast furnaces going. Ultimately it is unlikely the government will want to remain in charge of a business that is costing it more than a million pounds a day. In March, the National Audit Office released a report noting that the Scunthorpe steelworks was costing the government about £1.3m a day. The nationalisation came after Parliament on Wednesday passed legislation allowing the government to bring the steel industry into public ownership under circumstances where it met a public interest test. Jingye is seeking compe