Politicians urged to save British Steel

Simon Boyd, managing director of REIDsteel, said: “REIDsteel was the first steel contractor to sign the UK Steel Charter and make British Steel its primary supplier. “Great Britain once led the world in steelmaking but successive governments have passively watched the sale of British Steel as it has passed through various hands. “They have failed to take a golden share in the company or exert any semblance of control but instead were content to let the private sector take the pain associated with an industry that is vital for our infrastructure and security, and requires significant investment. “The current situation is that British Steel sees no future in blast furnace virgin steel .This is a mistake. “Our government’s current policy is that we produce green steel, which requires the use of Electric Arc Furnaces (EAFs). These EAFs are at least five years away and the size of investment totals circa £2bn. “British Steel needed a contribution of at least £1bn to make the transformation and the government offered half of that required, which has been rejected by British Steel. “The raw material for EAFs is scrap steel yet there is only enough scrap in the world to provide one third of the total demand. So there remains a huge need for blast furnaces which can produce new ‘virgin’ steel. “This virgin steel is critical for the UK’s defence in an uncertain world and other major industries. We ought to be investing in both blast furnace and EAF steel so we have the capability to make both virgin and low carbon steel in the UK. “To be left without the capability to make virgin steel is a real risk to the UK. Once our blast furnaces are shut they can never be used again. “All the race to net zero does is export our manufacturing jobs and steelmaking to countries such as China and India, and as a result we export our carbon emissions too. There is only one atmosphere. “Furthermore, the need to then import steel from these countries will only increase costs and our carbon footprint by having to bring it over here. It will also leave us beholden to other countries and add costs in the UK which will make it harder for us to export manufactured goods which rely on raw steel products. “I am very much in favour of a cleaner environment but to get to net zero we must use our own technologies and capabilities to produce clean virgin steel and low carbon steel, and that is going to take time. “To reach net zero in the way the previous and current government seem hellbent upon, is going to do nothing for the environment but will instead destroy our country’s industrial base and push more people into poverty. “The UK steel industry contributes £4.2bn to the UK economy and supports 75,000 jobs. It is time for the government to stand up and be counted and take control of this situation however it manifests itself. Public/part ownership should be considered, if it’s an option. “With the threatened closure and loss of jobs, an injection of £1bn would help resolve the immediate crisis but there can be no doubt that a higher degree of investment and support will be required to put British Steel back where it belongs. “We must save British steelmaking at all costs. Anything less would be catastrophic for our country.”