Moment MPs back move to take control of British Steel in emergency debate

MPs have backed the government’s plans to take control of British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant in a rare weekend emergency debate in parliament on Saturday, 12 April.

Following several hours of debate, House Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle put the question to a vocal vote in the Commons, declaring, “The ayes have it.”

MPs were debating blocking British Steel’s Chinese owners, Jingye, from closing blast furnaces at the Lincolnshire site after the prime minister warned the future of the company “hangs in the balance”.

If the plant was to shut down, the UK would become the only member of the G7 without the ability to make virgin steel, which would be a risk to the country's economic security, the government has said.