Parliament is being recalled so MPs can debate draft legislation to “protect” the British Steel plant in Scunthorpe, Number 10 has said.

MPs are being summoned back from Easter recess to Westminster, and will sit from 11am on Saturday, the House of Commons confirmed.

The news comes as the government has been actively considering nationalising British Steel after Jingye, its owner in Scunthorpe, cancelled future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.

Union officials have told Sky News that British Steel’s blast furnaces at Scunthorpe, the last blast furnaces left operating in Britain, will run out of raw material soon unless more can be sourced.

This has led to fears the Scunthorpe plant could be forced to close as early as next month.

Politics latest: Gove awarded peerage in Rishi Sunak’s resignation honours list

More than half of British Steel’s 3,500-strong workforce is being put at risk amid the impasse over a government funding package for the UK’s second-biggest steel producer.

The accountancy firm EY is being lined up by the government to play a role in the emergency nationalisation of British Steel, Sky News understands.

A Number 10 spokesperson said: “The prime minister has been clear, his government will always act in the national interest. All actions we take are in the name of British industry, British jobs and for British workers.

“Tomorrow parliament will be recalled to debate the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill.

“The Bill provides the government with the power to direct steel companies in England, which we will use to protect the Scunthorpe site.

“It enables the UK government to preserve capability and ensure public safety. It also ensures all options remain viable for the future of the plant and the livelihoods it supports.”

The spokesperson added: “We have always been clear there is a bright future for steel in the UK. All options remain on the table.”

Politicians had left Westminster for their Easter break on Tuesday and were not due to return until Tuesday 22 April.

The last time parliament was recalled was on 18 August 2021 to debate the situation in Afghanistan.

This will be the 35th recall during a recess since 1948.

The House of Commons said Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle has granted a request from the government for parliament to be recalled at 11am on Saturday 12 April “to take forward legislative proposals to ensure the continued operation of British Steel blast furnaces is safeguarded”.

In a letter to MPs, Sir Lindsay said he was satisfied the “public interest” requires the recall.

It is understood the House of Lords will also be recalled.

The British Steel plant in Scunthorpe has the UK’s last operating blast furnaces.

Read more:
‘All options’ on table for British Steel, chancellor says
British Steel rejects government’s £500m aid offer

The government has been in negotiations with both British Steel and Jingye throughout the week with talks continuing on Friday.

This morning, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that “all options remain on the table” in terms of saving British Steel.

Sir Keir Starmer had used the same line the day before, adding that demand for steel was “likely to go up, not down, which is why it’s very important to do everything we can”.

There have been calls from Reform for the company to be nationalised – though the Conservatives have said a “commercial solution” should be found instead.

Business and Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and officials met with the chief executives of Jingye and British Steel on Wednesday for discussions on steelmaking in Scunthorpe.

A statement released after the meeting said: “Both sides welcomed continued cooperation in talks to find a way forward.

“The UK government thanked Jingye for their respect for the workforce during this process, and work continues at pace to find a resolution.”

We’ve been waiting for a while for the Office for National Statistics to deliver us some good news on the British economy – and today it came.

Output grew by 0.5% in February, up from zero growth in January and higher than the 0.1% forecast by economists.

Some usual caveats apply. Monthly data can be volatile and prone to revision – but it can go up as well as down.

While publishing the latest figures, the ONS also revised up its January figure from -0.1% to zero.

It’s clear that, across the economy, sectors performed robustly.

The big surprise was manufacturing.

Business surveys told us that UK factories were on their knees, anxious about Trump’s tariffs and impending tax rises that came into effect in April.

Yet the production sector grew by 1.5% – led by pharmaceuticals, metals and transport equipment. Businesses have been resilient.

The chancellor will be pleased, but the celebrations are likely to be fleeting.

The world has already moved on, with Donald Trump unleashing policy chaos on the global economy.

Britain is now facing a 10% tariff on exports to the US and there will be pockets of acute stress, particularly for our car manufacturers, who have been hit with a 25% tariff.

They export more to the US than any other country in the world. Indeed, some of the growth in manufacturing may have been driven by businesses rushing to do deals before tariffs came into force.

The tariffs alone on the UK will be painful – but the most significant damage is likely to come from a slowdown in the global economy.

The US and China are engaged in a tit-for-tat trade war and that will have negative spillovers, especially for an open economy like ours. We won’t escape the fallout.

Businesses here in the UK might curtail hiring and investment in response, their hesitancy compounded by uncertainty over what Donald Trump might do next.

Consumers may also retreat, especially if the pound weakens and imports become more expensive, causing inflationary consequences.

So, while we’ve finally been given something to cheer, darker days beckon. We should enjoy it while it lasts.