Liberty Steel nationalisation ‘an option’ says business secretary
The government has restated it is considering “all options” to keep Liberty Steel’s UK plants and jobs afloat, including nationalisation.
On Sunday, the government rejected a request for £170m in financial support for the firm.
But that is due to concerns about the “very opaque” structure of its owner GFG, a minister said.
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the government could not put money into a “black box”.
Mr Kwarteng told the BBC’s Today programme that Liberty Steel was “an important national asset” but that the structure of its owner – Gupta Family Group (GFG) – was “very opaque” and “not helpful”.
“We are custodians of taxpayer’s money… and we feel that if we gave the (£170m) money, there was no guarantee that the money would stay in the UK, and would protect British jobs,” he said.
Liberty Steel’s founder, Sanjeev Gupta, is trying to refinance GFG after its key financial backer Greensill Capital filed for insolvency earlier this month.
Mr Kwarteng said he wanted to see Mr Gupta’s plans “work through” before the government took any further action.
There are 5,000 staff employed at Liberty’s 12 UK sites, which include Rotherham, Motherwell and Newport. Mr Gupta’s empire employs 35,000 people worldwide.
Mr Kwarteng said “all options are on the table” to keep Liberty Steel jobs and plants going, including nationalisation.
“We think that the steel industry has a future in the UK,” he said.
The UK’s industrial decarbonisation strategy means the government wants to see “clean steel” produced, he said.
“Electric arc furnace-produced steel of the kind that Liberty makes – we think that has a future in the UK,” Mr Kwarteng said.
Agencies