Ministers are considering deploying the Royal Navy to escort a vital fuel shipment to Scunthorpe's steelworks following yesterday's landmark takeover.
The move would ensure what's said to be a cargo of coking coal reaches the UK without being intercepted or redirected - as without fresh supplies, the furnaces would burn out and be nearly impossible to restart.
The location and details of the cargo remain unclear - but reports suggest it may be coking coal, which is vital to keeping the furnaces running.
Without securing fresh supplies, the furnaces at Britain's only source of virgin steel would be forced to close.
Ministers are considering deploying the Royal Navy to escort a vital fuel shipment to Scunthorpe's steelworks
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The Ministry of Defence said no decision had yet been taken on the Navy's involvement - nor have Ministers filed a formal request.
But it comes as a separate shipment of coking coal is currently sitting at Immingham port on the Humber Estuary, with no sign of unloading.
The Times reports that British Steel owners Jingye attempted to sell the shipment to an unnamed Chinese firm, which would have starved the Scunthorpe works of crucial fuel.
The Government was then forced to intervene, with police securing the shipment.
That came as MPs and peers were recalled to Parliament for a rare Saturday sitting - the first since the Queen's death in 2022 - and pushed the Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill through both Houses in a matter of hours.
LATEST ON THE BRITISH STEEL TAKEOVER:
Saturday saw chaotic scenes at the steelworks as workers rallied against its closure
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The emergency legislation empowers Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds to direct British Steel's board and staff, and allows him to enter company premises "using force if necessary".
The Government was forced to act after negotiations with Jingye broke down - with Reynolds telling Parliament that the firm had demanded "hundreds of millions of pounds" beyond the Government's offer.
The company also refused to accept conditions preventing fund transfers to China or ensuring blast furnaces were maintained.
Reynolds said it became clear Jingye intended to cancel orders for raw materials and would have "irrevocably and unilaterally closed down" Scunthorpe without intervention.
Them, Saturday saw chaotic scenes at the steelworks as workers rallied against its closure.
A delegation of "six to eight" Jingye executives gained access despite having their security passes revoked before barricading themselves in a room.
"There was a lot of screaming and shouting," one company source said.
Jonathan Reynolds warned that letting British Steel collapse would have been more expensive than stepping in
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Workers then called Humberside Police to deal with the fracas, forcing the Chinese delegation to "beat a hasty retreat".
Back in Westminster, Reynolds presented the takeover as a temporary measure - though he noted nationalisation may be "the likely option" long-term.
Even the Conservatives backed the Labour move - meanwhile, Reform UK deputy leader Richard Tice urged Reynolds to nationalise British Steel at once, telling him to "show your cojones, show some mettle".
Reynolds later told Sky News that letting British Steel collapse would have been more expensive than stepping in.
"The losses, the annual losses, net losses, in the last set of accounts were £233million," he warned, and said its complete collapse would cost "easily over £1billion" for the government to "remediate the land" and "look after the workforce".
