Government set to nationalise troubled steel firm

A plan to nationalise the UK's third-largest steelworks is being developed by the government, MPs have been told.

Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told the House of Commons ministers were looking to acquire Speciality Steel UK (SSUK), which has sites in Stocksbridge and Rotherham in South Yorkshire and Wednesbury in the West Midlands.

The government initially took control of SSUK, previously part of Liberty Steel, last year after it was forced to liquidate by the High Court.

Reynolds said a bidder had come forward earlier this year, but the government had decided against supporting it, citing "serious concerns" over the proposed financing of the deal and "protections for UK taxpayers".

Ministers had therefore decided that the government would plan its own formal acquisition of the business, he explained.

Production at the business, which employs about 1,300 people, was paused several months ago, with staff put on furlough on reduced wages.

Reynolds told the Commons: "Having concluded that we cannot support the preferred bidder's proposal, we are faced with a choice.

"We can allow events to take their course through the liquidation process and risk being left with no say in the future of these sites, or we can act.