Britain’s third-largest steelworks set to be taken under public ownership to save 1,300 jobs

BRITAIN’S third-biggest steelworks is set to be taken under public ownership to protect 1,300 jobs.

The Government announced today it is developing a plan for the “public acquisition” of Speciality Steel UK (SSUK).

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said a bidder had come forward to take over SSUK earlier this year, but the Government could not support it and was instead developing its own plan to take it over.

Speciality Steel, which was previously part of steel tycoon Sanjeev Gupta’s Liberty Steel business, plunged into administration last August.

Production at the business, which runs sites across Stocksbridge and Rotherham in South Yorkshire, and Wednesbury in the West Midlands, has been on pause in recent months.

Speciality Steel employs about 1,300 people, with many of its workers put on furlough with reduced wages.

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“This will preserve strategic control and ensure that all credible future opportunities can be properly considered before irreversible decisions are taken.”

Mr Reynolds said the sites could play a vital role supporting the Government’s modern industrial strategy, having produced specialist steel for sectors including aerospace, defence and advanced manufacturing.

In a message to workers, he said: “I will do all I can to secure a bright future for you, your communities and your families.”

Mr Reynolds added: “We want to attract private investment, we want to strengthen domestic supply chains and we want to ensure that industrial communities have a genuine opportunity to thrive in the decades ahead.”

First Secretary Louise Haigh said: “This Government refuses to be a passive observer to the decline of our critical industries and the loss of good jobs. Inaction is not an option.

“Over the coming months, we will work with regional and local partners to agree a way forward that delivers for employees, the community and the country.”

It comes weeks after British Steel was taken back under public ownership, with ministers promising to protect “the future of steel production” in the UK.

The Government took control after Chinese owners Jingye threatened to pull the plug on blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire.

This was followed by reports that Whitehall officials were considering extinguishing the historic furnaces for good to save money, meaning that jobs for more than two thousand workers in the steel town were hanging in the balance.

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