Full nationalisation of British Steel expected in King’s speech

The full nationalisation of British Steel is expected to be announced in the King’s speech this week, a year after the government took over the daily running of the loss-making business from its Chinese owner. The steelmaker, which employs 3,500 people at its plant in Scunthorpe, came under government control last April amid fears that its owner, Jingye, was planning to shut down the site. British Steel operates the last two remaining blast furnaces in the UK , but its economic control remains with the Chinese company, which bought it out of insolvency in early 2020. An announcement confirming the plans is expected in the King’s speech on Wednesday, according to the Sunday Times, but details of the speech are still being finalised. British Steel was bought by the private equity group Greybull Capital in 2016, but it collapsed into insolvency three years later. It was bought by Jingye in March 2020. The Chinese company had planned initially to build an electric arc furnace at Scunthorpe and another at a site in Teesside, though negotiations with the government ultimately fell through. Jingye then sought to shut down the blast furnaces in April 2025. Closure of the British Steel plant would have ended Britain’s primary steel-making ability as blast furnaces allow the metal to be made from scratch, rather than relying on scrap. …