Labour minister refuses to rule out another Chinese company running British Steel

A Labour minister has refused to rule out another Chinese company taking over operations at British Steel.

Ministers have secured raw materials needed to keep British Steel furnaces in Scunthorpe alive amid accusations that the plant’s Chinese owners were poised to let it fail.

The materials – which have arrived by ship from the United States – are enough to keep the furnaces running for the coming weeks while the government scrambles to secure the long-term future of the Jingye-owned site.

Speaking on Sky News on Tuesday (15 April), Minister of State for Industry Sarah Jones was grilled on the possibility of further Chinese ownership of British Steel.

She said: "I’m not going to say yes or no to anything that isn’t on the table."