7 h. ago Parliament approves British Steel bill to take control of Scunthorpe steelworks

Ministers had taken the unusual step of recalling Parliament from its Easter recess to sit on Saturday after negotiations with British Steel's Chinese owners, Jingye, appeared to break down.

Politics

8 h. ago British Steel latest: Parliament approves bill to save plant after workers block Chinese executives from site

MPs and Lords vote in favour of Starmer's plan to take control of British Steel after Chinese owners wanted hundreds of millions

Economics

9 h. ago Chinese executives 'tried to enter key areas' of British Steel plant hours before crunch debate that could bring furnace under government control

Police were called to the scene and forced bosses of British Steel owners Jingye to leave after they were prevented from accessing core areas of the plant, according to The Times.

Politics

9 h. ago Ministers accuse British Steel’s Chinese owner of trying to ‘irrevocably’ shut down blast furnaces

Labour prime minister has warned the UK’s ‘economic and national security’ at risk if Scunthorpe plant closes

Politics

10 h. ago MPs approve British Steel bill after Chinese owners’ ‘excessive’ demands – live

Bill now proceeds to the House of Lords for debate and passageIt’s been a busy morning for Sarah Jones, who is now on BBC Breakfast.Asked whether the government had received any private offers for the company’s Scunthorpe plant, Sarah Jones said:There is not at the moment, to answer your question, a private company that is there willing to invest at this point.When we came into government, there was a deal on the table with Tata Steel in Port Talbot.We negotiated in 10 weeks a much better deal, but there was a private company willing to invest, who are now investing.We are hoping that the company will co-operate with what we are asking them to do, we hope that we will give them a notice and they will continue.If they do not, we will step in. Now the company will be liable for any costs that we incur, and we will seek to get that money back.We have the £2.5 billion fund for steel which we had in our manifesto, that we will use if necessary, so there will be no extra costs to the Exch...

Politics

10 h. ago British Steel latest: Chinese executives who ‘tried to access’ plant blocked by workers as MPs back government plan

MPs vote in favour of Starmer's plan to take control of British Steel after Chinese owners wanted hundreds of millions

Politics

11 h. ago UK Government accused of double standards in plan to save British Steel

Welsh Politicians criticised the Government’s plans to save jobs in Scunthorpe, suggesting it failed to do the same for Port Talbot.

Politics

13 h. ago MPs debate emergency law to take control of British Steel after Chinese owners’ ‘excessive’ demands – live

No 10 has published a draft law that would give the business secretary the power to direct the companyIt’s been a busy morning for Sarah Jones, who is now on BBC Breakfast.Asked whether the government had received any private offers for the company’s Scunthorpe plant, Sarah Jones said:There is not at the moment, to answer your question, a private company that is there willing to invest at this point.When we came into government, there was a deal on the table with Tata Steel in Port Talbot.We negotiated in 10 weeks a much better deal, but there was a private company willing to invest, who are now investing.We are hoping that the company will co-operate with what we are asking them to do, we hope that we will give them a notice and they will continue.If they do not, we will step in. Now the company will be liable for any costs that we incur, and we will seek to get that money back.We have the £2.5 billion fund for steel which we had in our manifesto, that we will use if necessary, so ...

Society

23 h. ago Senior military and industry figures demand that ministers take back British Steel from its Chinese owners

Critics spoke out as the fate of British Steel's blast furnace in Scunthorpe, owned by Jingye of China , hangs in the balance.

Politics

5 d. ago SNP Government plan to abolish two child benefit cap 'needs Westminster legislation'

EXCLUSIVE: Letters between an SNP Cabinet Secretary and a Labour Cabinet Minister reveal claims Westminster must legislate to help ScotGov's anti-poverty policy.

Politics

8 d. ago David Lammy says Trump has taken US economic policy back 100 years with ‘return to protectionism’ – UK politics live

David Lammy, foreign secretary, says UK is ‘a nation that believes in open trade’ and says government is negotiating with US over economic agreementThe official plan to increase access to NHS dental services in England has been a “complete failure”, and some of the government’s initiatives have worsened the crisis, a damning report warns, Andrew Gregory reports.David Lammy, the foreign secretary, is at the Nato HQ in Brussels this morning, where Nato foreign ministers are meeting. Speaking to the media, he said President Trump was taking US economic policy back almost a century by embracing protectionism. He said:The United Kingdom, like France, is a great maritime nation.We are a nation that believes in open trade, and I regret the return to protectionism in the United States, something that we’ve not seen for nearly a century. Continue reading...

Politics

9 d. ago Labour tries to seem in control while The Donald unleashes chaos on the world | John Crace

Underneath the measured words you could almost smell the panic as the government scrambled to come up with a plan to respond to Trump’s tariffsWith characteristic humility and good grace Hardly.Shortly after 9pm UK time on Wednesday, the Sun-Bed King made his way to the White House Rose Garden, looking every bit the dishonest bookie as he held up a board with every country’s separate tariff. He might as well have been signposting the odds on a global recession. Continue reading...

Events

9 d. ago Luton airport expansion given green light by Government despite advice to reject plan

Luton was the UK’s fifth busiest airport last year, with 16.9 million passengers travelling on 132,000 flights

Politics

1 week ago MP behind assisted dying plan won't rule out plan returning as a Government Bill if it fails crunch vote this month

The Labour MP behind the assisted dying plan said that while she is 'focused on getting the Bill passed' it would be a 'tragedy' if it takes another decade before the subject is revisited.

Politics

1 week ago Scottish Labour under 'pressure' over Holyrood vote on UK Government welfare cuts

EXCLUSIVE: MSPs will be forced to take a position on the Labour Government plan to save billions from the social security budget.

Politics

1 week ago Australia election 2025 live: Dutton hints at cuts to ABC if he finds ‘waste’; Coalition to designate gas a ‘critical mineral’

Coalition senator Susan McDonald told a gas industry conference in Sydney the Coalition government’s plan if elected. Follow today’s news liveAnywhere but Canberra: Australian voters on what matters to themInteractive guide to electorates in the Australian electionListen to the first episode of our new narrative podcast series: GinaSee all our Australian election 2025 coverageGet our afternoon election email, free app or daily news podcastForeign minister Penny Wong has told RN Breakfast says Labor is “realistic” on what outcomes the government could achieve on tariffs with the Trump administration.We’ll keep working hard for the best outcome, but I think all of us are realistic. As the prime minister made it clear yesterday, we are not willing to trade away the things that make Australia the best country in the world, like our healthcare system. We don’t want the Americanisation of our healthcare system. We won’t be weakening our biosecurity laws, and we won’t be trading away our P...

Politics

1 week ago 'Flying taxis' could become 'everyday reality' as government unveils £20 million plan

Brits could be catching flying taxis in just two years' time under futuristic plans unveiled by the Government - ministers are also hoping to use drones to fight crime and help the NHS

Economics

1 week ago Nursing bosses warn lack of staffing needs puts SNP's NHS vision at risk of falling flat

Fears have been raised over a lack of workforce planning in the Scottish Government’s NHS improvement plan.

Events

1 week ago Digitising UK trade ‘could unlock £250bn in economic growth’ – even with Trump tariffs

With the US president’s tariffs on the UK now looking inevitable, the International Chambers of Commerce is urging the government to adopt a trade plan which could boost the economy by a quarter of a trillion pounds

Economics

1 week ago Digitising UK trade ‘could unlock £250bn in economic growth’

With Trump tariffs on the UK now looking inevitable, the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC) is urging the government to adopt a trade plan which could boost the economy by £250bn

Economics