British Steel has been taken into public ownership after years of uncertainty over the future of the steelworks — a move that brings the UK's last virgin steel plant under state control. The Scunthorpe site, which employs 2,700 people, about three-quarters of the company's workforce, is the only plant in the UK producing virgin steel used in major construction projects like buildings and railways. Were it to stop, the UK would be the only G7 country without the ability to make virgin steel — a risk to economic security, the government says.
The nationalisation, announced on 16 July, came months after the government took operational control of the plant, though it was still owned by China's Jingye Group. Jingye, which bought the business in 2020 after the government's insolvency service took over following financial collapse in 2019, is now seeking compensation for the seizure. China's commerce ministry has hit out at the decision, saying it "firmly opposes and is strongly dissatisfied with the British government's decision."
“British Steel nationalised as loss-making Scunthorpe plant cost taxpayers £1.3m daily.”
Financial pressures have been mounting for years. In late March 2025, Jingye said the plant was losing around £700,000 a day and launched a consultation on its closure, blaming "highly challenging" market conditions, tariffs and costs of moving to lower-carbon production. A later report from the National Audit Office this March noted the steelworks was costing the government about £1.3m a day. UK steel production has been declining for decades, and the industry was dealt a further blow last March when the US imposed a 25% tariff on any steel it imports. Global over-production has created "a glut of steel on the international market," according to a House of Commons Library briefing, pushing prices down, while British manufacturers face higher electricity costs than rivals abroad.
The government insists nationalisation will protect jobs and safeguard "a vital national capability." It buys time and gives ministers the power to decide the plant's future while keeping the blast furnaces running. But ultimately, it is unlikely the government will want to remain in charge forever.