Government announces plan to take British Steel into public ownership

The British government has announced plans to take full public ownership of British Steel. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said new legislation will give the government powers to buy the company completely. The government took control of British Steel's Scunthorpe steelworks in April to stop its blast furnaces from closing. The site had been owned by Chinese company Jingye. Officials held talks with Jingye about a commercial sale, but decided this was not possible. Any nationalisation will need to pass a public interest test first. An independent valuation of the business will follow, to decide whether Jingye should receive compensation. No cost figure has been announced. British Steel was previously nationalised in 1967 and then sold to private owners in 1988. The government says public ownership will protect steelmaking capacity and bring stability to workers and suppliers.