Grid connection for clean energy firms to be fast-tracked, ministers say April 15, 2025 Grid connections for businesses delivering clean energy are to be prioritised, ministers have said. The government has said so-called ‘zombie projects’ which hold up the queue for National Grid connectivity are set to be axed from the waiting list. While industries including data centres and AI, wind energy and solar projects will be accelerated for [...]
China’s out to destroy our steel industry? We can do that on our own. April 15, 2025 The two remaining furnaces at the Scunthorpe steel plant, known as Anne and Bess, have blasted through plenty of crises over the course of their long lives and now, thanks to an emergency effort by ministers to source enough materials to keep them fed, it seems they’ll roar for a few more years. But it [...]
British Steel: What is at stake? April 14, 2025 Government officials were in a race on Monday to secure the critical supply of materials needed to keep British Steel’s two blast furnaces in Scunthorpe running. The site’s closure would spell the end of the final hub in the UK capable of producing virgin steel, making it the only member of the G7 unable to [...]
British Steel: No 10 won’t rule out future Chinese involvement in steel making April 14, 2025 No 10 has declined to rule out future Chinese involvement in steel making, amid a race to keep the British Steel furnaces alight in Scunthorpe. The UK government has now said it is “confident” it will beat a race against time to keep the site running after taking control of the plant from Chinese owners [...]
British Steel: No10 ‘confident’ it will secure materials to keep plant running April 14, 2025 The UK government is confident it will beat a race against time to keep the British Steel furnaces running after taking control of the plant from Chinese owners Jingye this weekend. Civil servants and steel workers were rushing to secure the raw materials to keep the Scunthorpe site’s furnaces going – which supply Network Rail [...]
British Steel announces new interim leadership April 14, 2025 British Steel has announced the appointment of Allan Bell as interim chief executive after the government took over its Scunthorpe steelworks. Bell will take up the position with immediate effect, while Lisa Coulson has also been appointed chief commercial officer. Both are long-term employees of British Steel, with more than three decades of collective experience [...]
Reynolds fails to confirm British Steel will get raw materials required April 13, 2025 The business secretary has declined to guarantee that British Steel will be able to secure enough raw materials in time to keep the Scunthorpe blast furnaces going. Jonathan Reynolds said he would not “make my situation or the nation’s situation more difficult” by commenting on specific commercial details, the day after taking emergency powers to [...]
Reynolds issues guidance to British Steel after MPs back emergency law April 13, 2025 The business secretary Jonathan Reynolds has issued instructions to British Steel, using the emergency powers approved by Parliament on Saturday to save the Scunthorpe blast furnaces. A government source confirmed that Reynolds had given directions to the company following the extraordinary sitting of Parliament. But they declined to give details of those instructions, saying they [...]
MPs approve bid to take control of Scunthorpe steelworks April 12, 2025 MPs have approved plans to save British Steel’s Scunthorpe blast furnaces after an extraordinary sitting of the Commons on Saturday. Emergency legislation giving the government the power to instruct British Steel to keep the plant open passed the Commons unopposed. It will now be debated by the Lords as the Government attempts to get the [...]
Labour MP calls for action over Grangemouth oil refinery April 12, 2025 A Labour MP has urged the UK Government to intervene to help the Grangemouth oil refinery remain open, saying there are “striking similarities” between the plant there and the Scunthorpe steel plant. Brian Leishman said he hoped the UK Government would nationalise British Steel and take the plant at Scunthorpe “under Government control” – but [...]