MINISTERS must commit to buying British, said the GMB after legislation allowing the government to nationalise British Steel was cleared for royal assent.

The union said that it is “no exaggeration” to say that Labour had saved Britain’s steel industry after the Steel Industry (Nationalisation) Bill was passed in the Commons.

MPs accepted on Tuesday evening a number of Lords amendments to the government Bill around transparency, accountability and parliamentary scrutiny.

GMB national secretary Charlotte Brumpton-Childs said: “But the hard work to keep it alive starts here; beginning with a commitment to public infrastructure projects to buy British.

“GMB also demands a worker voice in the new nationalised company, so those who rely on the business will be in the boardroom and it will never be solely at the whim of foreign enterprise.”

Once the Bill receives royal asset, the government will be able to use the new law to bring British Steel into public ownership.

Energy minister Chris McDonald told the Commons that the government is “acting decisively and with a purpose in the national interest.”

He rejected criticism from shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith, who argued “nationalisation is a bad idea” and that the “real issue” for steel is Energy Secretary Ed Miliband’s “addiction to ruinously high energy prices.”

The minister said: “We believe a steel industry, where necessary, if run by the government, owned by the people, at least gives the opportunity to attract private sector investment in the industry.

“And if the public interest test is met, it is the right thing to do.”