BRITISH STEEL is set to return to public ownership after Sir Keir Starmer announced new legislation today, giving the government powers to nationalise the Scunthorpe steelmaker.

The move comes a year after emergency powers were used to take control of the firm from its Chinese owner, Jingye, which had proposed closing the site’s two blast furnaces. 

The government said it had been unable to agree on a commercial sale with Jingye that would deliver sufficient value to taxpayers.

The legislation, to be brought forward this week, will be subject to a public interest test covering national security, critical infrastructure and the economy. 

If passed, it would mark the first time British Steel has been in public hands in 38 years. Unions welcomed the announcement. 

Community and Unite said in a joint statement: “The government taking control of British Steel last year was a historic intervention which saved thousands of jobs… 

“To deliver the investment needed for a secure future, the ownership of British Steel must now be resolved. 

“Nationalising the business at this stage is absolutely vital.”

GMB national secretary Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said the legislation “will protect it from foreign owners,” describing British Steel as “a nationally strategic asset.”

Unison general secretary Andrea Egan welcomed nationalisation but warned: “There was no mention of how ministers plan to end the scourge of outsourcing in public services… 

“Only a Labour government which unashamedly puts the interests of workers before the wealthy can succeed.”

UK Steel director-general Gareth Stace stressed that nationalisation “must be the beginning of a clear and credible long-term plan,” not an end.