The UK government has taken control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant — the country’s last major facility producing steel from raw materials — after emergency legislation was passed on Saturday. This move came in response to the Chinese parent company, Jingye Group, planning to shut down the plant’s two crucial blast furnaces due to financial losses and rising environmental costs.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer convened a rare Saturday session of Parliament to push through the bill, now a law, giving Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds authority to manage the company’s operations, ensure workers are paid, and keep the furnaces running. The plant reportedly loses £700,000 ($910,000) daily, a situation worsened by recent 25% US steel tariffs.

The Scunthorpe plant employs around 3,000 workers and represents 150 years of steelmaking history. Without intervention, the shutdown would have left the UK as the only G7 nation unable to produce primary steel — a critical resource for construction, defense, and infrastructure.

Though Jingye still owns British Steel, its role moving forward is uncertain. Reynolds warned the company of legal consequences if it fails to comply with the new law. Ownership transfer to the state remains a possibility if necessary.