Watch live: MPs return to Westminster for emergency vote to save British Steel

Labour MPs from across the country have returned to Westminster for an emergency vote in Parliament on the future of British Steel.

The government aims to save blast furnaces in Scunthorpe, the last of their kind in the country, from closure with plans to bring the firm into public hands. Jingye, the Chinese owners of British Steel, have said the site is not financial sustainable, with fears that the furnaces could close within days without intervention.

The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill would instruct firms to keep such assets operational, and would grant the government the power to take over those assets if companies fail to comply. A compensation scheme for costs incurred by a company is also included in the bill, along with criminal sanctions for any firms that disregard the government’s demands.

In a speech yesterday, the Prime Minister said that the future of British Steel “hangs in the balance” and said that the government would “act with urgency”.

He said: “We will pass emergency legislation in one day to give the Business Secretary the powers to do everything possible to stop the closure of these blast furnaces. And as I have said, we will keep all options on the table.

“Our future is in our hands. This government will not sit back and just hope. We will act  to secure Britain’s future – with British Steel: made in Britain, in the national interest.”

READ MORE: ‘The government must re-nationalise British Steel’

General secretary of steelworkers’ union Community Roy Richkuss welcomed the move to recall Parliament and said: “It is in the national interest that a solution is found to secure a future for British Steel as a vital strategic business. We can’t allow Britain to become the only G7 country without primary steelmaking capacity.

“In the absence of a deal with Jingye to continue blast furnace operations at Scunthorpe as part of  a transition to greener steelmaking, it is essential that we see urgent action taken to bring British Steel into public ownership.”

You can watch the debate in the House of Commons live from 11am below.

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