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The raw materials needed to keep British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant operating have been paid for, Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner has said – but she would not be drawn on when they would arrive.

Officials have been racing to obtain enough iron and coal to keep the furnaces at the UK’s last virgin steel-producing plant going – because if they cool down too much, the molten iron solidifies and blocks the furnaces.

It comes after ministers rushed through an emergency bill on Saturday to take over the facility after talks with Chinese owners Jingye broke down.

Politics latest: Chinese embassy urges UK to act with ‘fairness’ on British Steel

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the government had been prompted into action after learning that the firm had stopped ordering new raw materials to keep the plant running and planned on selling off supplies it already had.

Speaking to reporters from the site in Scunthorpe on Monday afternoon, Ms Rayner said: “We’ve got the raw materials, they’ve been paid for, and we’re confident that the furnaces will continue to fire.”

Asked whether the materials would be arriving on Monday, the deputy PM only said: “As I say, we’ve got the raw materials, and everything’s in place, and we’re confident that the furnaces will continue.”

Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner views blast furnaces during her visit to the British Steel site in Scunthorpe. Pic: PA
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Angela Rayner views blast furnaces during her visit to the British Steel site in Scunthorpe. Pic: PA

Earlier, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury James Murray told Sky News the raw materials were “in the UK” and “nearby” the Lincolnshire site.

He said there were “limits to what I can say” because there were “commercial operations going on here”.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said there were two ships carrying materials docked at Immingham port in North Lincolnshire, with “a third ship which is currently en route off the coast of Africa, which will be making its way to the UK”.

Ministers have faced questions over why they are only just acting now, given unions warned earlier this month that Jingye decided to cancel future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.

Parliament was recalled on Saturday so that emergency legislation could be passed bringing the steelworks into effective government control and officials were on site as soon as the new legislation came into force.

Read more:
What next for British Steel?
How Trump, China and Reform played their part as government steps in

Ms Rayner would not be drawn on the long-term plan, nor whether other buyers were interested or whether it would come down to nationalisation.

She said: “We’ve taken nothing off the table. We’d like to see private investment going forward… we’re confident of the future of British Steel.”

‘No evidence of sabotage’

Ms Rayner said the government “hasn’t seen any evidence” of sabotage, when asked about suggestions that Jingye might have purposefully attempted to shut the blast furnaces down.

The Chinese company stepped in with a deal to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant out of insolvency five years ago.

Mr Reynolds told MPs on Saturday that the intention of Jingye… “was to cancel and refuse to pay for existing orders” which would have “irrevocably and unilaterally closed down primary steelmaking at British Steel”.

Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, the business secretary said he would not bring a Chinese company into the “sensitive” steel sector again.

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British Steel: What happens next?

Commenting on the situation for the first time on Monday, a Chinese embassy spokesperson urged the British government to act with “fairness, impartiality and non-discrimination… to make sure the legitimate rights and interests of the Chinese company be protected”.

“It is an objective fact that British steel companies have generally encountered difficulties in recent years,” it added.

Companies including Tata – which ran the now-closed Port Talbot steelworks – and Rainham Steel have offered managerial support and materials to keep the Lincolnshire site running.

Union officials have said they are “hopeful” that the materials required at the North Lincolnshire works will arrive within the next 48 hours.

However Andy Prendergast, national secretary at the GMB, said there still needs to be “a deal to be done for the future” and their preference is “nationalisation of what is a key national asset”.

The Conservatives accused the government of acting “too late” and implementing a “botched nationalisation” after ignoring warnings about the risk to the steelworks.

Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “The Labour government have landed themselves in a steel crisis entirely of their own making.

“They’ve made poor decisions and let the unions dictate their actions.”

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European leaders to meet in Ukraine for ‘coalition of the willing’ talks – and issue call to Russia

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European leaders to meet in Ukraine for 'coalition of the willing' talks - and issue call to Russia

Sir Keir Starmer will join other European leaders in Kyiv on Saturday for talks on the “coalition of the willing”.

The prime minister is attending the event alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk.

It will be the first time the leaders of the four countries will travel to Ukraine at the same time – on board a train to Kyiv – with their meeting hosted by President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

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Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer meets with French President Emanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on board a train to the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where all three will hold meetings with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, May 9, 2025. Stefan Rousseau/Pool via REUTERS
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Sir Keir Starmer, Emmanuel Macron and Friedrich Merz travelling in the saloon car of a special train to Kiev. Pic: Reuters

Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for the coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.

Ahead of the meeting on Saturday, Sir Keir, Mr Macron, Mr Tusk and Mr Merz released a joint statement voicing support for Ukraine and calling on Russia to agree to a 30-day ceasefire.

Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP
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Sir Keir and Volodymyr Zelenskyy during a meeting in March. Pic: AP

“We reiterate our backing for President Trump’s calls for a peace deal and call on Russia to stop obstructing efforts to secure an enduring peace,” they said.

“Alongside the US, we call on Russia to agree a full and unconditional 30-day ceasefire to create the space for talks on a just and lasting peace.”

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Putin’s Victory Day parade explained

The leaders said they were “ready to support peace talks as soon as possible”.

But they warned that they would continue to “ratchet up pressure on Russia’s war machine” until Moscow agrees to a lasting ceasefire.

“We are clear the bloodshed must end, Russia must stop its illegal invasion, and Ukraine must be able to prosper as a safe, secure and sovereign nation within its internationally recognised borders for generations to come,” their statement added.

“We will continue to increase our support for Ukraine.”

Read more:
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The European leaders are set to visit the Maidan, a central square in Ukraine’s capital where flags represent those who died in the war.

They are also expected to host a virtual meeting for other leaders in the “coalition of the willing” to update them on progress towards a peacekeeping force.

This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.

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The ‘tricky balancing act’ facing Starmer over US trade deal – and the real challenge to come

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The 'tricky balancing act' facing Starmer over US trade deal - and the real challenge to come

If you want a very visual representation of the challenges of transatlantic diplomacy in 2025, look no further than Oslo City Hall.

Its marbled mural-clad walls played home to a European military summit on Friday.

In December – as it does every year – it will host the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony. It’s an award Donald Trump has said he deserves to win.

But while the leaders gathering in the Norwegian capital may not say it publicly, they all have a very different perspective to the US president on how to win the peace – particularly when it comes to Ukraine.

Sir Keir Starmer at a summit in Oslo. Pic: PA
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Sir Keir Starmer at a summit in Oslo. Pic: PA

So far, Sir Keir Starmer has managed to paper over these foreign policy gaps between the US and Europe with warm words and niceties.

But squaring the two sides off on trade may be more difficult.

The US-UK deal announced on Thursday contained no obvious red flags that could scupper deeper trade links with the EU.

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PM defends UK-US trade deal

However, that’s in part because it was more a reaction and remedy to Mr Trump’s tariff regime than a proactive attempt to meld the two countries together.

Laced with party-political venom, yes, but the Tory leader Kemi Badenoch is getting at something when she says this agreement is “not even a trade deal, it’s a tariff deal and we are in a worse position now than we were six weeks ago”.

There may be more to come though.

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How good is the UK-US deal?

The government will talk up the possible benefits, but there are risks too.

Take the Digital Services Tax – much hated by the Trump White House as an unfair levy on US tech firms.

Despite the apparent pitch-rolling from the government, that was left untouched this week.

But asked to rule out changes in the future, the prime minister was non-committal, simply saying the current deal “doesn’t cover that”.

Read more:
Key details of UK-US trade deal
Not the broad trade deal of Brexiteer dreams – analysis

For trade expert David Henig, the potential flashpoints in the transatlantic Venn diagram Downing Street is trying to draw around food standards, digital regulation and services.

“It is a tricky balancing act, at this stage it looks like the UK will go more with the EU on goods regulations, but perhaps a little bit more with the US on services regulations,” he said.

For veterans of the post-2016 Brexit battles, this may all sound like Labour embracing the Boris Johnson-era mantra of “cakeism” – or trying to have it both ways.

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It’s ironic indeed, given Sir Keir is a politician who supported the Remain campaign and then called for a second referendum.

But what matters now is what works – not for Downing Street but for the swathes of voters who have abandoned Labour since they took office.

That’s why the prime minister was once again trying to humanise this week’s trade deals.

These are agreements, he said, that would be measured in the “many thousands of jobs” they would safeguard across the country.

That’s the real challenge now, taking the work done in the marbled halls of the world’s capitals and convincing people at home why it matters to them.

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US senators ask DOJ, Treasury to consider Binance-Trump ties — Report

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US senators ask DOJ, Treasury to consider Binance-Trump ties — Report

US senators ask DOJ, Treasury to consider Binance-Trump ties — Report

A group of Democratic senators has reportedly sent a letter to leadership at the US Department of Justice and the Treasury Department expressing concerns about US President Donald Trump’s ties to cryptocurrency exchange Binance and potential conflicts of interest in regulating the industry.

According to a May 9 Bloomberg report, Democratic senators asked Attorney General Pam Bondi and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent to report on the steps Binance had taken as part of its November 2023 plea agreement with US authorities, amid reports that Trump and his family had deepened connections with the exchange.

That settlement saw Binance pay more than $4 billion as part of a deal with the Justice Department, Treasury, and Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and had then-CEO Changpeng “CZ” Zhao step down.

However, since Trump won the presidency in 2024, many lawmakers have accused the president of corruption from profiting off crypto while being in a position to influence laws and regulations over the industry.

Trump has launched his own memecoin — which earns the project millions of dollars in transaction fees — and offered the top tokenholders the opportunity to attend an exclusive dinner in Washington, DC. His family-backed crypto venture World Liberty Financial also recently announced that an Abu Dhabi-based investment firm, MGX, would settle a $2 billion investment in Binance using the platform’s USD1 stablecoin.

“Our concerns about Binance’s compliance obligations are even more pressing given recent reports that the company is using the Trump family’s stablecoin to partner with foreign investment companies,” the senators said in the letter, according to Bloomberg.

Related: Trump tricked into pushing XRP for crypto reserve: Report

Stablecoin bill fails to pass the US Senate

The letter came less than 24 hours after some of the same senators blocked a crucial vote on a bill to regulate stablecoins, named the GENIUS Act. Senator Elizabeth Warren, who reportedly signed the letter and opposed moving forward on the stablecoin bill, suggested the Senate should not be aligned with “facilitat[ing] this kind of corruption” from Trump.

Bessent said the Senate “missed an opportunity” by not passing the stablecoin bill, but did not directly address any of the concerns over Trump’s crypto interests. It’s unclear if or when the chamber could consider another vote on the bill.

In an April 23 report, the nonpartisan organization State Democracy Defenders Action said roughly 40% of Trump’s net worth was tied to crypto. The group noted that the GENIUS Act, in its current version, “would not prevent President Trump from using his executive powers to establish a regulatory environment and enforcement agenda that prioritizes his personal enrichment over the broader interests of US stakeholders.”

Amid the concerns with the stablecoin and proposed market structure bills, Zhao reportedly applied for a federal pardon from Trump. Though the former CEO already served four months in prison, a pardon for his felony charge could allow him to get more involved with the crypto industry through a management position.

Magazine: Trump’s crypto ventures raise conflict of interest, insider trading questions

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