The government is closing in on a bailout of British Steel in which the taxpayer would inject £600 million into the group.
Labour this weekend signalled a new intent to break an impasse in talks with British Steel’s Chinese owner, Jingye, that has clouded the future of its vast works in Scunthorpe for more than four years.
Now, Jingye has helped hone in on a compromise by committing to bankroll the hugely loss-making operations until the second half of 2025 at least.
British Steel is one of only two manufacturers of strategically important “virgin steel” in the UK, alongside Tata Steel at Port Talbot in Wales. Tata is in more advanced talks of its own with the government over a similar bailout.
Jingye acquired British