A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?

Published

5 months ago

April 13, 2025

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Sir Keir Starmer was flying the flag for domestic steel production on Saturday as his government passed emergency legislation to give itself extraordinary powers to intervene in the running of the steel works in Scunthorpe and elsewhere.

He wants voters to notice that his intervention-friendly government has stepped in to save virgin steel production which was days away from dying out for good because of what ministers call the bad faith behaviour of Chinese owners.

The politics and optics of Saturday’s intervention seem relatively simple. What happens next, however, is not.

Follow live updates: Emergency law to keep British steel plant open

Even before the emergency bill had made its way through parliament, officials had turned up at British Steel in Scunthorpe.

There’s a nervousness about what happens next. As one person close to the talks told me, keeping the blast furnaces alive is far from a foregone conclusion and there are difficult times to come.

“We’re in for a very hard few days and week while government and UK management secure and ensure the vital loads of raw materials needed,” said a source.

“You can’t just do next day delivery on Amazon. Until this is in the blast furnaces keeping them going this won’t be a job done.”

It stands to reason the government will pull out all the stops and the furnace for now will be kept alive, whatever the cost, because the political cost of failure at this point is too high.

Future not secure

But the medium term prospects for virgin British steel are far from secure.

The blast furnaces being saved only have a few years life at best – but it remains unclear who will fund a transition to the new-style electric blast furnaces.

Jonathan Reynolds, the business secretary, said: “The action I seek to take today is not a magic wand or a panacea.

“The state cannot fund the long term transformation of British Steel itself, nor would it want to do so.”

Nor would he say that steel production is an overriding national security issue, effectively guaranteeing future production. The wiggle room will be noted in Scunthorpe and beyond.

The government has provided a sticking plaster not a solution.

But this is about so much more than what’s going on in Lincolnshire, this is about Britain’s place in the world – and its resilience.

Is dependence on China inevitable?

Can our domestic steel industry survive if Trump continues to impose 25% tariffs on steel going from the UK to the US?

Can we make our own weapons for years to come – as part of Mr Starmer‘s newfound commitment to spend 3% of GDP on defence – without British steel?

Is the eventual dependence on Chinese steel an inevitability?

Yet one of the fascinating features of Saturday’s debate was the most strident attack on a Chinese entity by a minister – the toughest assault since Mr Starmer’s government entered office.

Mr Reynolds said: “Over the last few days, it became clear that the intention of Jingye was to refuse to purchase sufficient raw materials to keep the blast furnaces running.

“In fact, their intention was to cancel and refuse to pay for existing orders. The company would therefore have irrevocably and unilaterally closed down primary steelmaking at British Steel.

“Their intention has been to keep the downstream mills, which colleagues will know are fundamental to our construction steel industry, and supply them from China rather than from Scunthorpe.”

This attack – at a time when ministers (most recently Ed Miliband) have been heading to Beijing to repair relations.

However, the accusation that a Chinese entity has been acting in bad faith in order to effectively scupper domestic steel production is a serious charge.

It also comes before we find out whether Donald Trump is going to make it harder for allies to trade with China.

The government has succeeded in protecting the domestic manufacturer of virgin steel for the short term.

But what happens in the long term, and where we might get it from, remains as murky today as it did before.

UK

Man admits arson after major fire at MP Sharon Hodgson’s constituency office

Published

29 mins ago

September 13, 2025

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Man admits arson after major fire at MP Sharon Hodgson's constituency office

A man has admitted arson after a major fire at an MP’s constituency office.

Joshua Oliver, 28, pleaded guilty to starting the fire which destroyed the office of Labour MP Sharon Hodgson, at Vermont House in Washington, Tyne and Wear.

The fire also wrecked a small charity for people with very rare genetic diseases and an NHS mental health service for veterans.

The guilty plea was entered at Newcastle Magistrates’ Court on the basis that it was reckless rather than intentional.

The Crown did not accept that basis of plea.

Oliver, of no fixed address, had been living in a tent nearby, the court heard.

Northumbria Police previously said it was “alerted to a fire at a premises on Woodland Terrace in the Washington area” shortly after 12.20am on Thursday.

“Emergency services attended and no one is reported to have been injured in the incident,” it added.

Drone footage from the scene showed extensive damage to the building.

A spokesperson for the Crown Prosecution Service said: “Our prosecutors have worked to establish that there is sufficient evidence to bring the case to trial and that it is in the public interest to pursue criminal proceedings.

“We have worked closely with Northumbria Police as they carried out their investigation.”

Oliver was remanded in custody and will appear at Newcastle Crown Court on Tuesday, 14 October.

UK

Community voices shock and fear after woman raped in ‘racially aggravated attack’

Published

6 hours ago

September 13, 2025

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Community voices shock and fear after woman raped in 'racially aggravated attack'

Dozens of people have gathered at a Sikh temple to attend an emergency meeting after police in the West Midlands said they are investigating the rape of a woman as a “racially motivated attack”.

The victim, reported to be a British-born Sikh aged in her 20s, told officers a racist remark was made to her during the attack in Oldbury, which was reported to police just before 8.30am on Tuesday.

The Sikh Federation (UK) said the perpetrators allegedly told the woman during the attack: “You don’t belong in this country, get out.”

Jas Singh, principal advisor to the Sikh Federation (UK), was among the group of faith and community leaders responsible for holding the meeting at the Guru Nanak Gurdwara temple in Smethwick, a few miles from Oldbury, following concerns within the community.

“I think if you look at it in the context of the climate, it makes it even more worrying because there is a trend of hatred… the targeting of migrants,” he said.

“Ultimately, what that means is the targeting of people’s skin colour, and as Sikhs we have the most distinct, unique identity,” he added.

“We bear the brunt of all prejudice and ignorance, and hate.”

Similar sentiments were raised at the meeting, with many horrified by the reports of the sexual assault as well as concerns about their own safety.

“People are trying to divide us,” said a woman in her 30s, who did not want to be named but said, as a Sikh woman, she wanted to be present to have her voice heard.

She was not only referencing the sexual assault but also what she believes has been an increase in overt discrimination.

“Let’s call it what it is, this is racism,” she told the meeting, as she broke down in tears.

Reverend Nick Ross, from Smethwick’s Holy Trinity Church, was also in attendance at the emergency meeting.

He commented on “offensive” graffiti that had been left on the side of the wall of the Sikh temple, while saying his Anglican church had also been defaced.

“We cannot just ignore it, it will go on and it will build, and there will be incidents like this,” he said, referencing racial tensions across the country.

Police are still trying to identify the perpetrators of the attack and want to speak to anyone who may have seen two white men in the area.

The first is described as having a shaved head and a heavy build, and was wearing a dark sweatshirt with gloves on, and the second was reportedly wearing a grey top with a silver zip.

Chief Superintendent Kim Madill, of Sandwell Police, said: “We are working really hard to identify those responsible, with CCTV, forensic and other inquiries well under way.

“We fully understand the anger and worry that this has caused, and I am speaking to people in the community today to reassure them that we are doing everything we can to identify and arrest those responsible.

“Incidents like this are incredibly rare, but people can expect to see extra patrols in the area.”

UK

Roadwork levels hit record highs – as expert partially blames Boris Johnson

Published

6 hours ago

September 13, 2025

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Roadwork levels hit record highs – as expert partially blames Boris Johnson

The number of roadworks in Britain has more than doubled in the past two years – and frustrated drivers are more likely than ever to get stuck behind temporary traffic lights.

Exclusive data obtained by Sky News reveals there were 425,524 miles of roadworks across the UK last year. That’s enough to stretch around the world a whopping 17 times.

It marks a 110% increase compared to 2023, when there were 203,000 miles of lane closures.

Part of the reason for the surge is the 2019 pledge by then prime minister Boris Johnson to roll out full fibre broadband to every corner of the nation as part of his “levelling up” agenda.

Causeway Technologies infrastructure director Nick Smee told Sky News: “It’s absolutely true that the rollout of super-fast fibre has caused a huge spike because we all want those facilities.

“The problem is you can’t do it without digging up the roads.”

The original deadline for Johnson’s ‘Project Gigabit’ was this year, but this has been delayed to 2032, meaning drivers could face at least another six years of disruptions.

Meanwhile, the government is hoping another 100,000 public electric vehicle charging points will be installed by the end of the decade, which will inevitably lead to more asphalt being ripped up for the cables to be laid.

Roadworks are now a regular occurrence in large parts of the country, with emergency repairs often needed for leaking Victorian water pipes and other utilities.

In some cases, the same streets are repeatedly dug up in quick succession, leading to misery for motorists and an increased risk of potholes.

Drivers in London trundled through 490,893 roadworks in 2024, the highest number nationwide, averaging more than 1,300 sites across the capital every day.

Kent recorded 134,430 projects, and Surrey had 132,291. Essex and Hampshire complete the list of the top five roadwork hotspots.

In January 2024, the then Conservative government said it would crack down on disruptive street works.

The Labour government stood by the pledge and said it would start charging firms that unnecessarily leave roads closed over weekends, which hadn’t previously been possible.

Officials also planned to double fines for delayed roadworks by this summer. However, the Department for Transport has now told Sky News that won’t happen until next year at the earliest “due to other high priority legislative work pushing it back”.

Clive Bairsto, chief executive of the trade association Street Works UK, said: “If you overfine people, the industry will be forced to use firms of less integrity and you’ll end up with the poor performers being used to do jobs rather than the good performers, which is what we want to encourage.”